Transactional services

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for supporting electronic transactions, including transactions that are provided with per-user, per-device and per-domain security across domains of multiple service providers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/539,024, filed Oct. 5, 2006, of the same title, presently pending.That application is a continuation-in-part of the followingcommonly-owned, co-pending U.S. patent applications, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/284,676, filed Oct. 31, 2002, entitled “Systemand methods for servicing electronic transactions”; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/766,221, filed Jan. 19, 2001, entitled “Methodand system for managing user activities and information using acustomized computer interface.” U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/539,024 also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/724,066, filed Oct. 5, 2005, entitled Methods andSystems for Transactional Services,” naming Satyan Pitroda and MehulDesai as inventors.

Certain systems and methods are described in PCT Pub. No. PCT WO95/35546 to Satyan Pitroda and entitled “Universal ElectronicTransaction Card and system and Methods of Conducting ElectronicTransactions,” (referred to herein as “Pitroda”) the entire teachings ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

This application is related to the following U.S. patents, each of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety: U.S. Pat. No.5,952,641, filed Nov. 21, 1996, entitled “Security device forcontrolling the access to a personal computer or to a computerterminal”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,439, filed Mar. 10, 1999, entitled“Device, system and methods of conducting paperless transactions”; U.S.Pat. No. 6,769,607, filed Jun. 6, 2000, entitled “Point of sale anddisplay adapter for electronic transaction device”; U.S. Pat. No.6,705,520, filed Nov. 15, 1999, entitled “Point of sale adapter forelectronic transaction device”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,038, filed Jun. 20,1994, entitled “Universal electronic transaction card including receiptstorage and system and methods of conducting electronic transactions”;U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,050, filed Oct. 10, 1975, entitled “Electronicdiary”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,271, filed Sep. 6, 1996, entitled“Device, system and methods of conducting paperless transactionsdevice”.

This application is also related to the following published PCTapplications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety: PCT Pub. No. WO 02/057899, filed Jan. 17, 2002, entitled“Method and system for managing user activities and information using acustomized computer interface”; PCT Pub. No. WO 03/012717, filed Jul.30, 2001, entitled “System for distribution and use of virtual storedvalue cards”; PCT Pub. No. WO 01/93172, filed Jun. 1, 2001, entitled“Doctor service provider”; PCT Pub. No. WO 01/37200, filed Sep. 21,2000, entitled “Point of sale and display adapter for electronictransaction device”; PCT Pub. No. WO 01/37199, filed Sep. 8, 2000,entitled “Point of sale adapter for electronic transaction device”; PCTPub. No. WO 01/18629, filed Aug. 10, 2000, entitled “System and methodfor servicing electronic transactions”; PCT Pub. No. WO 01/18629, filedAug. 10, 2000, entitled “System and method for servicing electronictransactions”; PCT WO 99/34314, filed Dec. 30, 1998, entitled “Universalelectronic communications card”; PCT WO 95/35546, filed Jun. 7, 1995,entitled “Universal electronic transaction card and system and methodsof conducting electronic transactions”; and PCT WO 83/04327, filed May21, 1982, entitled “System with remote computer data entry device,associated apparatus and method of using same”.

All patents, patent applications and other documents referenced hereinare hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates to methods and systems of electronictransactions and particularly relates to mobile secure electronictransactions.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mobile devices with increasing capabilities enable users to communicatewith each other and to perform other computing functions. However, whilethe widespread use of these devices can enable business transactions, italso increases the difficulty of supporting those transactions in asecure way. A need exists for improved methods and systems for enablinga wide variety of electronic transactions.

SUMMARY

Provided herein are methods and systems for supporting secure electronictransactions, including those that support security at the domain, userand device level.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forreceiving a request from a first facility at a second facility; andtransmitting an acknowledgement to the request from the second facilityto the first facility. In some embodiments the first facility is capableof being initialized, and in some embodiments the initialization of thefirst facility comprises entering one or more of a code, personalidentifier, password, personal identification number, signature, orsimilar identifier. In some embodiments the first facility is auniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thesecond facility is a service facility. In some embodiments the servicefacility is a transaction service facility. Some embodiments include amethod for providing the first facility with a financial transactionservice. In some instances the request from the first facility is atransaction request. The methods and systems may also include the firststep of establishing communications between the universal electronictransaction facility and the transaction service facility. In someembodiments the service facility is a wallet service center. A walletservice center may include a service facility that provides variousservices related to the features and functions of an electronictransaction facility, including services that can be accessed by userdevices, merchant devices, and devices of various service providers. Awallet service center may include one or more servers, one or moredatabases, and one or more other computing facilities. In embodiments, awallet service center may include one or more security facilities, whichmay be multidimensional security facilities. In some instances, suchsecurity facilities may operate in accordance with a variety of distinctsecurity protocols, such as security protocols that are native to one ormore user devices, one or more network or transport domains orfacilities, one or more merchant systems, or one or more serviceprovider systems. Other features of a wallet service center may beunderstood by reference to the embodiments described herein and in thedocuments incorporated by reference herein.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransmitting a request from a second facility to a first facility andreceiving an acknowledgement of the request at the second facility. Insome embodiments the first facility is capable of being initialized, andin some embodiments the initialization of the first facility comprisesentering one or more of a code, personal identifier, password, personalidentification number, signature, or similar identifier. In someembodiments the first facility is a transaction facility. In someembodiments the second facility is a service facility. In someembodiments the service facility is a transaction service facility. Insome embodiments the method is a method for providing the first facilitywith a financial transaction service. In some embodiments the requestfrom the second facility is a transaction request. In some embodimentsthe transaction facility is a universal electronic transaction facility.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransmitting an alert associated with a pending transaction to a firstfacility from a second facility; and receiving, at the second facility,a response to the alert. In some instances, the response is a requestfor direct settlement of the transaction at the second facility;receiving from a third facility a message comprising informationpertaining to the transaction; transmitting, from the second facility tothe first facility, a request for a code; receiving, at the secondfacility, the code from the first facility; determining the validity ofthe code; settling the transaction; and transmitting, from the secondfacility and to both the first facility and the third facility, anacknowledgement of the transaction being settled. In some embodimentsthe first facility is a transaction facility. In some embodiments thesecond facility is a service facility. In some embodiments the servicefacility is a transaction service facility. In some embodiments thetransaction facility is a universal electronic transaction facility. Insome embodiments the third facility is a merchant facility. In someembodiments the message received from the third facility furthercomprises an identifier that is unique to the third facility. In someembodiments the method is a method for providing the first facility withthe capability of transacting with the third facility. In someembodiments the method is a method for providing the third facility withthe capability of first sending a bill to the first facility and thenreceiving payment of the bill from the first facility. In someembodiments the service facility is a wallet service center. In someembodiments the alert of a transaction is a bill. In some embodimentsthe code is a personal identifier.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forconducting a transaction, including receiving from a first facility areference to a second facility; sending a request to the first facility;receiving from the first facility a response; determining the validityof the response; settling a transaction between the first facility andthe second facility; and sending a confirmation of the transaction toboth the first facility and the second facility. In some embodiments thefirst facility is capable of being initialized, and in some embodimentsthe initialization of the first facility comprises entering one or moreof a code, personal identifier, password, personal identificationnumber, signature, or similar identifier. In some embodiments the firstfacility is a source facility. In some embodiments the source facilityis a transaction facility. In some embodiments the transaction facilityis a universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thesecond facility is a recipient facility. In some embodiments therecipient facility is a transaction facility. In some embodiments thetransaction facility is a universal electronic transaction facility. Insome embodiments the method is a method for enabling a person-to-personasset transfer from the first facility to the second facility. In someembodiments the reference to the second facility is an identifier. Insome embodiments the identifier is a unique identifier.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransferring money from one financial account to another, includingreceiving from a first facility a request for a funds transfer, therequest comprising a reference to a source account, a reference to adestination account, and a transfer amount in response to the requestfor a funds transfer; requesting a code from the first facility;receiving the code from the first facility; and sending a confirmationof a funds transfer to the first facility. In some embodiments the firstfacility is capable of being initialized, and in some embodiments theinitialization of the first facility comprises entering one or more of acode, personal identifier, password, personal identification number,signature, or similar identifier. In some embodiments the reference tothe source account is an identifier. In some embodiments the identifieris a unique identifier. In some embodiments the reference to thedestination account is an identifier. In some embodiments thisdestination identifier is a unique identifier. In some embodiments thefirst facility is a transaction facility. In some embodiments thetransaction facility is a universal electronic transaction facility.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forreceiving from a first facility a request to transfer funds to a secondfacility, the request comprising a reference to the first facility, areference to the second facility, and a transfer amount; in response tothe request for a funds transfer, requesting a code from the firstfacility; receiving the code from the first facility; receiving from thesecond facility a request for a funds transfer from the first facilityto the second facility; in response to the request from the secondfacility, transmitting a request to the second facility requesting theunique identifier of the second facility and a code receiving from thesecond facility the unique identifier of the second facility and thecode; and transmitting to the second facility an approval to releasefunds to the second facility. In some embodiments the first facility iscapable of being initialized, and in some embodiments the initializationof the first facility comprises entering one or more of a code, personalidentifier, password, personal identification number, signature, orsimilar identifier. In some embodiments the first facility is a senderfacility. In some embodiments the sender facility is a merchant. In someembodiments the second facility is a destination facility. In someembodiments the destination facility is a merchant. In some embodimentsthe reference to the first facility is an identifier. In someembodiments the identifier is a unique identifier. In some embodimentsthe reference to the second facility is an identifier. In someembodiments the identifier is a unique identifier.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forconducting a transaction. In some embodiments the method is a method fora wire transfer. In some embodiments the method is a method for a moneyorder. In some embodiments the first facility is a transaction facility.In some embodiments the first facility is a universal electronictransaction facility. In some embodiments the second facility is atransaction facility. In some embodiments the second facility is auniversal electronic transaction facility.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forconducting a transaction, including receiving a transaction request froma second facility. In some embodiments the transaction request isassociated with a first facility and a third facility; in response toreceiving the transaction request, sending a request for a code to thefirst facility; receiving the code from the first facility; verifyingthe validity of the code sending the transaction request to the thirdfacility; receiving from the third facility a confirmation of thetransaction; and sending a transaction authorization to the secondfacility. In some embodiments the first facility is capable of beinginitialized, and in some embodiments the initialization of the firstfacility comprises entering a code, personal identifier, password,personal identification number, signature, or similar identifier. Insome embodiments the transaction is a purchase. In some embodiments thetransaction is an activation of a prepaid shopping card. In someembodiments the transaction is a recharge of a prepaid shopping card. Insome embodiments the transaction is a top-up (that is, increasing theamount of prepaid minutes) of a prepaid cell phone. In some embodimentsthe second facility is a merchant facility. In some embodiments thefirst facility is a customer facility. In some embodiments the thirdfacility is a supplier facility. In some embodiments the first facilityis a transaction facility. In some embodiments the transaction facilityis a universal electronic transaction facility.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forproviding an incentive to a consumer, including transmitting anelectronic coupon to a first facility. In some embodiments the firstfacility is capable of being initialized, and in some embodiments theinitialization of the first facility comprises entering one or more of acode, personal identifier, password, personal identification number,signature, or similar identifier. In some embodiments the first facilityis a consumer facility. In some embodiments the consumer facility is atransaction facility. In some embodiments the consumer facility is auniversal electronic transaction facility.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransmitting an electronic coupon to a first facility; receiving aunique identifier of the first facility from a second facility;receiving data associated with the coupon from the merchant facility;sending a request for a code to the first facility; receiving the codefrom the first facility; verifying the validity of the code; and sendingan electronic coupon redemption approval to the second facility. In someembodiments the first facility is capable of being initialized, and insome embodiments the initialization of the first facility comprisesentering a code, personal identifier, password, personal identificationnumber, signature, or similar identifier. In some embodiments the firstfacility is a consumer facility. In some embodiments the consumerfacility is a transaction facility. In some embodiments the transactionfacility is a universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the second facility is a merchant facility.

In various embodiments, a merchant facility can include or be hosted byany device with a processor, such as a point of sale terminal, cashregister, personal computer, laptop computer, cellular phone, PDA,processor-equipped retail display, kiosk, ATM, processor-equippedshelving, sign, billboard, barcode scanner, RFID device, scanner,machine vision system, camera, card reader, magnetic stripe reader orother device.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forconducting a transaction, including establishing a session with a firstfacility; requesting an inventory status report from a second facility;transmitting the inventory status report to the first facility;receiving a purchase request from the first facility; executing thepurchase request with the second facility; and issuing a receipt to thefirst facility. In some embodiments the first facility is capable ofbeing initialized, and in some embodiments the initialization of thefirst facility comprises entering one or more of a code, personalidentifier, password, personal identification number, signature, orsimilar identifier. In some embodiments the first facility is a consumerfacility. In some embodiments the consumer facility is a transactionfacility. In some embodiments the transaction facility is a universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the second facilityis a supplier facility. In some embodiments the supplier facility is aticket retail facility. In some embodiments the supplier facility is aticket issuing facility. The methods and systems may also includeissuing a ticket to the first facility. In some embodiments the purchaserequest is a ticket order. In some embodiments the inventory statusreport is a ticket availability report. In some embodiments the sessionis a secure session.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forwithdrawing money from an account, including receiving a request for awithdrawal from an account associated with first facility; sending arequest for a code to the first facility; receiving the code from thefirst facility; transmitting to a second facility an approval to acceptfunds from the first facility; and sending a confirmation of thewithdrawal to the first facility. In some embodiments the first facilityis capable of being initialized, and in some embodiments theinitialization of the first facility comprises entering one or more of acode, personal identifier, password, personal identification number,signature, or similar identifier. In some embodiments the first facilityis a consumer facility. In some embodiments the consumer facility is atransaction facility. In some embodiments the transaction facility is auniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thesecond facility is a merchant facility. In some embodiments the merchantfacility is a bank.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fordepositing money into an account, including receiving a request from asecond facility to deposit funds into an account associated with a firstfacility. In some embodiments the request comprises a unique identifierof the first facility, an identifier of the account associated with thefirst facility, and an amount to be deposited. The methods and systemsmay include sending a request for a code to the second facility;receiving the code from the second facility; transmitting to the secondfacility a confirmation of the deposit into the account associated withthe first facility; and sending a confirmation of the deposit to thefirst facility. In some embodiments the first facility is capable ofbeing initialized, and in some embodiments the initialization of thefirst facility comprises entering one or more of a code, personalidentifier, password, personal identification number, signature, orsimilar identifier. In some embodiments the first facility is a consumerfacility. In some embodiments the consumer facility is a transactionfacility. In some embodiments the transaction facility is a universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the second facilityis a merchant facility.

Universal electronic transaction facilities as described herein may haveany and all features and attributes in various embodiments disclosedherein. In some embodiments the universal electronic transactionfacility provides a user with “electronic wallet” capabilities. Like aperson's leather, physical wallet, an electronic wallet contains one ormore identification cards, credit cards, or the like. The electronicwallet is an electronic collection of one or more of these types ofphysical materials that can be reviewed, viewed and used electronicallyto achieve similar results to the physical analogs. In this manner, insome embodiments the electronic wallet contains a credit card. In someembodiments the electronic wallet contains a medical card. In someembodiments the electronic wallet contains a membership card. In someembodiments the electronic wallet contains a promotional card. In someembodiments the electronic wallet contains a coupon. In some embodimentsthe electronic wallet is paperless. In some embodiments the electronicwallet provides a data security feature. In some embodiments theuniversal electronic transaction facility contains a component thatenables a service. In some embodiments enabling a service comprises aninteraction with a service facility. In some embodiments the servicefacility authenticates a participant in a transaction. In someembodiments the service facility is the final authority as to thesettlement of a transaction. In some embodiments the service facilitycomprises a main service facility. In some embodiments the interactionwith a service facility comprises utilizing a communication facility totransmit data to a main service facility. In some embodiments utilizingthe communication facility comprises utilizing a network communicationfacility. In some embodiments the service comprises a transactionalmethod. In some embodiments the transactional method comprises afinancial transactional method. In some embodiments the servicecomprises a transaction. In some embodiments the transaction comprises afinancial transaction. In some embodiments the service is supplied by aservice partner. In some embodiments the service is delivered through aWeb services oriented architecture. In some embodiments the servicecomprises a premium service associated with a financial charge. In someembodiments the service comprises a free service. In some embodimentsthe service is bill payment. In some embodiments the bill paymentcomprises bill receipt. In some embodiments the bill payment comprisesbill payment. In some embodiments the bill payment comprises billreceipt and bill payment. In some embodiments the service is personaldata management. In some embodiments the service is security. In someembodiments the security is associated with a function of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the securitycomprises a privacy feature associated with the universal electronictransaction facility. In some embodiments the security comprises theftdeterment. In some embodiments the security comprises transactionintegrity. In some embodiments the security comprises data integrity. Insome embodiments the security comprises identity authentication. In someembodiments the security comprises non-repudiation. In some embodimentsthe security comprises revocation. In some embodiments the securitycomprises renewability. In some embodiments the security is associatedwith the universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodimentsthe service is promotion. In some embodiments the promotion isassociated with a loyalty card. In some embodiments the promotion isassociated with a coupon. In some embodiments the promotion comprises anincentive program. In some embodiments the promotion is associated withthe universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thepromotion is directly distributed. In some embodiments the directlydistributed promotion is distributed by a vendor. In some embodimentsthe promotion is distributed by a merchant. In some embodiments themerchant comprises a retailer. In some embodiments the service isbanking. In some embodiments the banking comprises an account transfer.In some embodiments the banking comprises access to an ATM facility. Insome embodiments the banking comprises a microcredit transaction. Insome embodiments the banking comprises a microcredit settlement. In someembodiments the banking comprises a function provided to the user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments theservice comprises applying for a new account. In some embodimentsapplying for a new account comprises provided needed information to aservice facility. In some embodiments the service facility comprises abank. In some embodiments the service facility comprises a credit cardcompany. In some embodiments the service is renewing an existingaccount. In some embodiments the service is issuing a credit card. Insome embodiments the service is management of a sub-account. In someembodiments the service is removing an account. In some embodiments theservice is canceling an account. In some embodiments the service isshopping. In some embodiments shopping comprises the providing personalinformation. In some embodiments the personal information assists inbrowsing merchandise. In some embodiments the personal informationassists in product selection. In some embodiments shopping is associatedwith a shopping action. In some embodiments the shopping actioncomprises checking for a bargain. In some embodiments the shoppingaction comprises checking for a discount. In some embodiments theshopping action comprises checking for a related product. In someembodiments the shopping action comprises receiving promotionalinformation. In some embodiments the shopping action associated withbrowsing merchandise. In some embodiments the service comprises apurchasing agent. In some embodiments the service comprises a governmentservice. In some embodiments the government service is associated with apassport. In some embodiments the government service is associated witha visa. In some embodiments the government service is associated with asocial security number. In some embodiments the government service isassociated with a motor vehicle. In some embodiments the governmentservice is associated with voting. In some embodiments the service iscustomer profiling. In some embodiments customer profiling benefits auser of the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments customer profiling benefits a vendor. In some embodimentscustomer profiling comprises profiling a group of users. In someembodiments the service is inter-vendor cooperation. In some embodimentsthe service is inter-vendor collaboration. In some embodiments theservice comprises a financial service. In some embodiments the financialservice is associated with a person-to-person money transfer. In someembodiments the financial service is associated with a money order. Insome embodiments the financial service is associated with a wiretransfer. In some embodiments the service comprises a prepaid service.In some embodiments the prepaid service comprises a prepaid callingcard. In some embodiments the prepaid service comprises a prepaid cellphone. In some embodiments the prepaid service comprises a debit card.In some embodiments the service is ticketing. In some embodimentsticketing is associated with an airline. In some embodiments ticketingis associated with a play. In some embodiments ticketing is associatedwith a sporting event. In some embodiments ticketing is associated withan auction. In some embodiments ticketing is associated with acharitable function. In some embodiments ticketing is associated with aneducational function. In some embodiments ticketing is associated with aceremony. In some embodiments ticketing is associated with a speech. Insome embodiments ticketing is associated with an entertainment event. Insome embodiments ticketing is associated with a hospitality facility. Insome embodiments a hospitality facility comprises a hotel. In someembodiments ticketing is associated with paperless tickets. In someembodiments paperless tickets are issued directly to the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the servicecomprises a manned ATM. In some embodiments the service comprises aproximity transaction. In some embodiments the service is associatedwith the universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodimentsthe service comprises allowing an authorized user of the universalelectronic transaction facility to conduct a transaction with amerchant. In some embodiments the service comprises allowing anauthorized user of the universal electronic transaction facility toconduct a transaction with a peer. In some embodiments the servicecomprises allowing an authorized user of the universal electronictransaction facility to conduct a transaction with a supplier. In someembodiments the service comprises allowing an authorized user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility to conduct a transaction witha transaction participant. In some embodiments the service comprises aWeb server. In some embodiments the service comprises a transactionservice. In some embodiments the service comprises a user interface

User interfaces as disclosed herein may include a wide variety offeatures and attributes. In some embodiments the user interfacecomprises a display. In some embodiments the display comprises an LCD.In some embodiments the display comprises a touch screen. In someembodiments the display comprises an organic light emitting diode. Insome embodiments the display comprises a flexible organic light emittingdiode. In some embodiments the display comprises a projection display.In some embodiments the display renders an identifier. In someembodiments the identifier comprises a signature. In some embodimentsthe identifier comprises a bar code. In some embodiments the identifierprovides information to an operator of a support computer. In someembodiments the display renders a signature. In some embodiments thedisplay provides visual feedback to a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In some embodiments the display providesinformation to a user of the universal electronic transaction facility.In some embodiments the display comprises a full size display. In someembodiments the full size display is the size of a tablet PC. In someembodiments the full size display is the size of a desktop PC. In someembodiments the full size display comprises a remote display. In someembodiments the remote display is associated with a remote computer. Insome embodiments the display comprises a small size display. In someembodiments the small size display is the size of that of a PDA. In someembodiments the small size display is the size of that of a cell phone.In some embodiments the small size display is the size of that of acamera. In some embodiments the small size display is the size of thatof a digital watch display. In some embodiments the display is smallenough to be portable. In some embodiments the display is large enoughto display user-readable messages. In some embodiments the display islarge enough to display touch controls. In some embodiments the displayis small enough to be portable, large enough to display user-readablemessages, and large enough to display touch controls. In someembodiments the display is embodied in a remote device. In someembodiments the remote device comprises a Web browser. In someembodiments the component comprises a control facility. In someembodiments the control facility controls functions of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the controlfacility comprises a processor. In some embodiments the control facilitycomprises a microprocessor. In some embodiments the control facilitycomprises a computer. In some embodiments the control facility comprisesa display controller. In some embodiments the control facility comprisesa memory component. In some embodiments the memory component stores avalue associated with a transactional method associated with thefunctionality of the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the value comprises a unique identifier. In some embodimentsthe unique identifier is used to discriminate one universal electronictransaction facility from another. In some embodiments the valuecomprises access control information. In some embodiments the accesscontrol information is used to prevent unauthorized use of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the access controlinformation comprises an encoded signature. In some embodiments theaccess control information comprises a personal identification number.In some embodiments the access control information comprises a biometricmeasure, such as a fingerprint or iris scan. These and other biometricmeasures may also be encoded to further enhance security.

In some embodiments the value comprises personal information identifyingan owner of the universal electronic transaction facility. This personalinformation may comprise an individual's name, a business's name, a homeaddress, a home telephone number, a home fax number, a home e-mailaddress, an office address, an office phone number, an office faxnumber, an office e-mail address, a URL, a URI, height, weight, birthdate, a social security number, blood type, and/or marital status. Insome embodiments the value comprises financial account information, suchas a credit card number, a date of issue, a date of expiration, a creditlimit, a savings account number, a checking account number, aninvestment account number, a username associated with a financialaccount. In some embodiments the value comprises medical and healthinformation associated with an owner of the universal electronictransaction facility. this may comprises an indication of an allergy, amedical history, a medical condition, a health insurance numberassociated with a health insurance plan, a physician name, a hospitalname, a pharmacy name. In some embodiments the value comprises a storedcash value. In some embodiments the value comprises brandinginformation. In some embodiments the branding information comprises alogo. In some embodiments the branding information comprises an image ofa credit card.

In some embodiments the memory component comprises RAM. In someembodiments the memory component comprises ROM. In some embodiments thememory component comprises non-volatile RAM. In some embodiments thememory component comprises a data storage facility. In some embodimentsthe data storage facility comprises a file. In some embodiments the datastorage facility comprises an object-oriented database. In someembodiments the data storage facility comprises a relational database.In some embodiments the data storage facility comprises an object. Insome embodiments the data storage facility comprises a facility forstoring data. In some embodiments the data storage facility comprises afacility for storing an application. In some embodiments the datastorage facility comprises a facility for storing a program. In someembodiments the data storage facility comprises a facility for storingan item associated with the electronic facility. In some embodiments thememory component is sufficient to store all data associated with theparticipation of the universal electronic transaction facility in theexecution of a transactional method. In some embodiments the memorycomponent comprises a leak-resistant cryptography facility. In someembodiments the leak-resistant cryptography facility is a smart card. Insome embodiments the memory component comprises a magnetic facility. Insome embodiments the memory component comprises an optical facility. Insome embodiments the memory component comprises an electronic facility.In some embodiments the memory component stores content. In someembodiments the content is uploaded in whole to a support computer. Insome embodiments the content is stored in a multidimensional database.In some embodiments the content is associated with a transactionalmethod. In some embodiments the memory component is operatively coupledto a software conduit. In some embodiments the software conduit uploadsthe content in part to a support computer. In some embodiments thesoftware conduit uploads the content in part to a local computer. Insome embodiments the software conduit uploads the content in part to amain service facility. In some embodiments the software conduit uploadsthe content in whole to a main service facility. In some embodiments thesoftware conduit uploads the content in whole to a local computer. Insome embodiments the software conduit uploads the content in whole to amain service facility. In some embodiments the content is uploaded to abackup facility. In some embodiments the backup facility is a mainservice facility. In some embodiments the content is a type of data thatis the same as a type of data stored by a main service facility. In someembodiments the control facility comprises input/output port management.In some embodiments the control facility comprises a light emittingdiode. In some embodiments the light emitting diode indicates on/offstatus. In some embodiments the on/off status is determined by a switch.In some embodiments the control facility comprises a beeper. In someembodiments the control facility comprises a speaker. In someembodiments the control facility comprises a contact facility. In someembodiments the contact facility connects to an external facility. Insome embodiments the contact facility is associated with charging abattery. In some embodiments the battery is integral to the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the contactfacility provides power to the universal electronic transactionfacility. In some embodiments the contact facility provides datacommunications capability to the universal electronic transactionfacility. In some embodiments the contact facility comprises a powerpin. In some embodiments the contact facility comprises a magneticstripe. In some embodiments the contact facility comprises a contactsmart card facility. In some embodiments the contact facility comprisesa power facility. In some embodiments the contact facility comprises adata facility. In some embodiments the control facility comprises abattery. In some embodiments the control facility comprises acontactless facility. In some embodiments the control facility comprisesa communication facility. In some embodiments the communication facilitycomprises a contact facility. In some embodiments the communicationfacility comprises a contactless facility. In some embodiments thecontactless facility comprises interacting with an external facility. Insome embodiments the contactless facility comprises an infraredfacility. In some embodiments the infrared facility comprises an IrDAfacility. In some embodiments the contactless facility comprises an RFfacility. In some embodiments the RF facility is an RFID facility. Insome embodiments the contactless facility comprises a contactlesssmartcard facility. In some embodiments the communication facilitycomprises a direct communication facility. In some embodiments thecommunication facility comprises a local communication facility. In someembodiments the communication facility comprises a network communicationfacility. In some embodiments the network communication facilitycomprises a connection to a PSTN. In some embodiments the connection tothe PSTN comprises a modem. In some embodiments the networkcommunication facility comprises a connection to a data network. In someembodiments the connection to a data network may comprise an Ethernetcard, an 802.11 wireless card, a Bluetooth facility, a cellular network(utilizing protocols such as CDPD, GPRS, GSM, CSD, HSCSD, and SMS). Insome embodiments the network communication facility comprises aconnection to a special interface. In some embodiments the specialinterface is a data communications interface that is operatively coupledto a main service facility. In some embodiments the networkcommunication facility comprises a secure data connection (such as aVPN, an IPSec connection, or an SSH connection). In some embodiments thecommunication facility comprises a physical component. In someembodiments the physical component is a category 5e cable or othernetwork component. In some embodiments the communication facilitycomprises an application-oriented component. In some embodiments theapplication-oriented component is a Web server. In some embodiments theapplication-oriented component is a Web browser. In some embodiments theapplication-oriented component is associated with the universalelectronic transaction facility.

In some embodiments the communication facility comprises a facilityproviding a direct connection to a main service facility through anexternal facility. In some embodiments the facility providing a directconnection to a main service facility through an external facility is anapplication implementing the Telnet protocol, the FTP protocol, or theSSH protocol. In some embodiments the facility providing a directconnection to a main service facility through an external facilitycomprises an application providing a connection-based tunnel through theexternal facility to the main service facility. In some embodiments thefacility providing a direct connection to a main service facilitythrough an external facility comprises an application providing asession-based tunnel through the external facility to the main servicefacility. In some embodiments the communication facility comprises anapplication-oriented communication facility. In some embodiments theapplication-oriented communication facility comprises a facility forconnecting to a service provider's Web server. In some embodiments theservice provider is a retailer. In some embodiments connecting to aservice provider comprises utilizing HTTP or HTTPS. In some embodimentsthe communication is associated with the embodiment of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the controlfacility comprises a power facility (e.g. a battery, a DC power supply,a solar cell, a fuel cell, a recharger, an inductive charger and/or acigarette-lighter adapter). In some embodiments the power facilitycomprises a practicable source of power. In some embodiments the powerfacility comprises a wireless interaction with an external facility. Insome embodiments the interaction with the external facility compriseselectromagnetic induction.

In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facility isembodied in a form. In some embodiments the form is 3.5 inches by 2.5inches. In some embodiments the form is the size of a credit card. Insome embodiments the form is the size of a stack of credit cards. Insome embodiments the form comprises a mobile device. In some embodimentsthe mobile device comprises a PDA. In some embodiments the mobile devicecomprises a smart card. In some embodiments the mobile device comprisesa cell phone. In some embodiments the mobile device comprises a wearablecomputer. In some embodiments the mobile device comprises a watch. Insome embodiments the mobile device comprises a Blackberry. In someembodiments the mobile device comprises a Sidekick. In some embodimentsthe mobile device comprises a ring. In some embodiments the mobiledevice comprises a bracelet. In some embodiments the mobile devicecomprises a pendant. In some embodiments the mobile device comprises ashoe. In some embodiments the mobile device comprises an eyeglasses rim.In some embodiments the mobile device comprises a barrette. In someembodiments the mobile device comprises a personal item that a userwears. In some embodiments the form comprises a cash register. In someembodiments the form comprises a point of sale system. In someembodiments the form comprises a personal computer. In some embodimentsthe form comprises a portable digital music player. In some embodimentsthe form comprises a digital camera. In some embodiments the formcomprises a set-top box. In some embodiments the form comprises adigital video recorder. In some embodiments the form comprises asatellite receiver. In some embodiments the form comprises anautomobile. In some embodiments the form comprises a utility meter. Insome embodiments the utility meter comprises an electric meter. In someembodiments the utility meter comprises a gas meter. In some embodimentsthe form is associated with a sale of a thing. In some embodiments theform is associated with a transfer of funds.

In some embodiments the component comprises an interface to anautomobile. In some embodiments the component comprises a GPS receiver.In some embodiments the component comprises a facility enabling amobile, location-sensitive transaction. In some embodiments thecomponent comprises a user interface. In some embodiments the componentcomprises a brightness adjustment facility. In some embodiments thecomponent comprises an enclosure. In some embodiments the enclosuremoderates an environmental lighting condition. In some embodiments theenvironment lighting condition would otherwise hinder the usability ofthe universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thecomponent comprises a visible light sensor capable of sensing anenvironment lighting condition. In some embodiments a display isintegral to the universal electronic transaction facility andoperatively coupled to the visible light sensor. In some embodiments thebrightness of the display is adjusted based upon the luminosity of theenvironmental lighting condition, wherein the adjustment of thebrightness of the display enhances the readability of the display by auser of the universal electronic transaction facility.

In some embodiments the component comprises software to support methodsassociated with transactions. In some embodiments the software comprisesan operating system. This software may include a memory display manager,a database display manager, an analysis algorithm, an analysisprocedure, an interface controller, a day planner, an I/O driver, adisplay driver, a scheduler, a command manager, a clock, a calendar, auniversal electronic transaction facility initialization program, anauthorization program, a security manager, and a signature manager. Insome embodiments the software comprises an operational application thatemulates a physical card. In some embodiments the physical card is acredit card. In some embodiments the operational application operates onan input value. In some embodiments the input value is a gratuity. Insome embodiments the input value is a cash back quantity. In someembodiments the input value is a monetary quantity associated with atransaction. In some embodiments the physical card is a bank card. Insome embodiments an operational application operates on an input value.In some embodiments the input value is a gratuity. In some embodimentsthe input value is a cash back quantity. In some embodiments the inputvalue is a monetary quantity associated with a transaction.

In some embodiments the physical card is a medical card. In someembodiments the operational application is associated with informationassociated with the medical aspect of a person. In some embodiments theperson is associated with the universal electronic transaction facility.In some embodiments the information associated with the medical aspectof the person is a medical history. In some embodiments the informationassociated with the medical aspect of the person is insuranceinformation. In some embodiments the information associated with themedical aspect of the person is photo identification. In someembodiments the physical card is a driver's license. In some embodimentsthe physical card is a phone card. In some embodiments the physical cardis an airline travel card. In some embodiments the operationalapplication interfaces with an airline reservation facility. In someembodiments the operational application interfaces with a facilityassociated with airline travel. In some embodiments the physical card isa car rental card. In some embodiments the physical card is a universalintegrated card. In some embodiments the universal integrated cardcomprises: the integration of a plurality of operational applications;an identity of a user associated with the universal electronictransaction facility; and an account associated with both the identityof the user and a transaction. In some embodiments the transaction isassociated with at least one of the plurality of operationalapplications. In some embodiments the component comprises a smartcardfacility. In some embodiments the component comprises a microphone withspeech recognition. In some embodiments the component comprises aBluetooth facility. In some embodiments the component comprises avirtual private network. In some embodiments the component comprises aholographic memory facility. In some embodiments the component comprisesa removable RAM facility. In some embodiments the component comprises aremovable ROM facility. In some embodiments the component comprises aregistration facility capable of registering with a central securityfacility. In some embodiments the component comprises an activationfacility capable of interacting with the service facility. In someembodiments the universal electronic transaction facility may be aLinux, Macintosh or a Windows computer. In some embodiments theuniversal electronic transaction facility supports an additionalfeatures associated with one of a transactional method and a generalactivity. In some embodiments said additional feature comprises theentry of a code. In some embodiments the code is an alphanumeric code.In some embodiments the code is a personal identifier. In someembodiments the code is a password. In some embodiments the code is apersonal identification number. In some embodiments the code is asignature. In some embodiments said additional feature comprises thedisplay of a universal electronic transaction facility option. In someembodiments the option is an account summary. In some embodiments saidadditional feature comprises the display of a status associated with atransaction. In some embodiments said status is indicative of acompleted transaction. In some embodiments said additional featurecomprises the display of a numeric keypad. In some embodiments saidnumeric keypad responsive to a user's touch input. In some embodimentssaid additional feature comprises a notepad. In some embodiments saidadditional feature comprises a to-do list. In some embodiments saidadditional feature comprises a contact. In some embodiments saidadditional feature comprises an email program. In some embodiments saidadditional feature comprises a task. In some embodiments said additionalfeature comprises a message. In some embodiments said additional featurecomprises an instant message. In some embodiments said additionalfeature comprises an alarm. In some embodiments said additional featurecomprises a reminder. In some embodiments said additional feature isassociated with a general computing capability. In some embodiments saidadditional feature is associated with a transactional method. In someembodiments said additional feature is associated with a general useractivity.

In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facilityinteracts with a main service facility. In some embodiments the mainservice facility is an HTTP server. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a personal computer. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a workstation. In some embodiments the main service facilityis a laptop computer. In some embodiments the main service facilityprovides functions as a service in a service oriented architecture. Insome embodiments the service is listed in a registry of such services.In some embodiments the registry is accessed by a client of the mainservice facility. In some embodiments the client is a universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a distributed computer. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a cluster computer. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a network of workstations. In some embodiments the mainservice facility is a server. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a supercomputer. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a mainframe computer. In some embodiments the main servicefacility is a server farm. In some embodiments the main service facilityis a set of servers deployed at different geographic locations. In someembodiments the interaction occurs via an external connector. In someembodiments the external connector is employed in association with theuniversal electronic transaction facility and the main service facilityduring the execution of a transactional method. In some embodiments theexternal connector comprises a telecommunications facility. In someembodiments the external connector comprises an Internet facility. Insome embodiments the external connector comprises an informationprocessing facility. In some embodiments the external connectorcomprises a user input key. In some embodiments the external connectorcomprises a liquid crystal display. In some embodiments the externalconnector comprises a personal computer interface facility. In someembodiments the external connector enables a transactional methodbetween the universal electronic transaction facility and the mainservice facility. In some embodiments the external connector comprisesan RF facility. In some embodiments the external connector comprises anIR facility. In some embodiments the external connector facilitatescommunication between the universal electronic transaction facility andthe main service facility. In some embodiments the external connector isassociated with a merchant. In some embodiments the external connectoris associated with a transaction participant.

In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facilityrequires the completion of an initialization procedure prior to use. Insome embodiments the initialization procedure associates a user with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments one stepin the initialization process requires a user to enter a signature. Insome embodiments the signature becomes a permanent record. In someembodiments the signature is used for verification. In some embodimentsthe signature is used for identification. In some embodiments thesignature is used for security purposes. In some embodiments thesignature is stored in nonvolatile RAM. In some embodiments thesignature is automatically displayed on a display associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility during the exercise of atransactional method. In some embodiments the universal electronictransaction facility is ready for normal use only after the user hasentered the signature. In some embodiments one step in theinitialization process requires a user to select a code. In someembodiments the code is up to 10 digits. In some embodiments the code isa personal identification number. In some embodiments later recallingand providing the code is a prerequisite to accessing information storedin the universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodimentsthe user's later failing to recall and provide the code results in thepartial disablement of the universal electronic transaction facility. Insome embodiments the user's later failing to recall and provide the coderesults in the total disablement of the universal electronic transactionfacility. In some embodiments the universal electronic transactionfacility is ready for normal use only after the user has selected acode.

In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facilitydisplays a command box on a display integral to the universal electronictransaction facility. In some embodiments the command box appears at thetop of the display. In some embodiments the command box is associatedwith a command. In some embodiments the command is “type”. In someembodiments the command is “print”. In some embodiments the command is“erase”. In some embodiments the command is “security”. In someembodiments the command is “shift”. In some embodiments the command issupported by the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the remaining part of the display is available for thedisplay of information associated with a transactional method. In someembodiments the universal electronic transaction facility comprises aspecific area that is assigned for an original signature. In someembodiments the original signature is entered by a user into theuniversal electronic transaction facility during an initializationprocedure. In some embodiments the signature is permanently stored inthe universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thesignature is used for identification purposes. In some embodiments thespecific area is subsequently utilized by a user to write a signature.In some embodiments the user writes the signature during the exercise ofa transactional method.

In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facilityprovides for the digitization of a physical (or biometric) traitassociated with a user, such as captured in a photograph, a fingerprint,a voice print, and/or an iris scan. In some embodiments the physicaltrait is likely to be unique to the user and not associated with anotheruser. In some embodiments the digitization of the physical traitprovides for identification of the user. In some embodiments thedigitization of the physical trait provides for authorization of theuser. In some embodiments the universal electronic transaction facilitydisplays a simulation of a physical card. In some embodiments thesimulation is a simulacrum. In some embodiments the physical card is acredit card. In some embodiments a signature collected during aninitialization procedure associated with the universal electronictransaction facility is displayed during an exercise of a transactionalmethod. In some embodiments the signature is inspected by a merchant. Insome embodiments the signature is inspected by a participant in thetransactional method. In some embodiments the simulacrum comprises basiccard information. In some embodiments the basic card information maycomprise a name, a card number, a date of issue, and/or an expirationdate. In some embodiments the basic card information is stored withinthe universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments thebasic card information is presented in the form of a bar code. In someembodiments the bar code is read by a bar code reader.

Embodiments of a user interface may include many features andattributes. A user interface may include a touch screen. In someembodiments the user interface comprises a touch memory button. In someembodiments the user interface comprises a touch memory reader. In someembodiments the user interface comprises a mouse. In some embodimentsthe user interface comprises a trackball. In some embodiments thetrackball is integral to the universal electronic transaction facility.In some embodiments the user interface comprises a microphone. In someembodiments the microphone enabled speech recognition. In someembodiments the user interface comprises an RFID scanner. In someembodiments the user interface comprises a Bluetooth interface to anexternal user interface. In some embodiments the user interfacecomprises a network interface. In some embodiments the user interfacecomprises a remote Web browser operatively coupled to the universalelectronic transaction facility via a network. In some embodiments theuser interface comprises a keyboard. In some embodiments the userinterface comprises a click wheel. In some embodiments the userinterface comprises a track wheel. In some embodiments the userinterface comprises a pointer. In some embodiments the user interfacecomprises a slider. In some embodiments the user interface comprises abutton. In some embodiments the user interface comprises avoice-activated interface. In some embodiments the user interfacecomprises a stylus. In some embodiments the user interface comprises asmart pen. In some embodiments the user interface comprises a remotecontrol. In some embodiments the user interface comprises a networkinterface. In some embodiments the user interface comprises a softwareinterface. In some embodiments the user interface comprises a Web page.In some embodiments the user interface comprises a browser. In someembodiments the user interface comprises a camera. In some embodimentsthe camera is a video camera. In some embodiments the camera is a Webcamera.

A UET or universal electronic transaction facility may be capable ofperforming many functions and may have many attributes. In someembodiments the universal electronic transaction facility is capable ofstoring a user's signature as an essential part of an initializationprocess of the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the universal electronic transaction facility is capable ofstoring a security code as a part of an initialization process of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments theuniversal electronic transaction facility is capable of beinginitialized, and in some embodiments the initialization of the universalelectronic transaction facility comprises entering a code, personalidentifier, password, personal identification number, signature, orsimilar identifier. In some embodiments the initialization of theuniversal electronic transaction facility further comprises creating aclient profile. In some embodiments the initialization of the universalelectronic transaction facility further comprises selecting atransaction service provider. In some embodiments the initialization ofthe universal electronic transaction facility further comprisesregistering with a central security agency.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems formaking a payment, including issuing a representation of a check to anelectronic transaction facility; storing the representation in memoryassociated with the electronic transaction facility; and causing therepresentation to be transmitted in connection with a transaction. Themethods and systems may also include the step of assessing informationthat is associated with the representation and processing at least someof the information through a financial institution. In some embodimentsthe financial institution is an ACH processing facility. The methods andsystems may also include the step of transmitting at least one of acancelled check and a transaction receipt back to the electronictransaction facility in response to a competed transaction. In someembodiments the electronic transaction facility comprises at least oneof a cell phone, PDA, combination PDA cell phone, satellite phone,mobile phone, mobile communication facility, laptop computer, handheldcomputer, desktop computer, and a computer.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems formaking a payment, including issuing a representation of a money order toan electronic transaction facility; storing the representation in memoryassociated with the electronic transaction facility; and causing therepresentation to be transmitted in connection with a transaction. Themethods and systems may also include the step of transmitting atransaction receipt back to the electronic transaction facility inresponse to a competed transaction. The methods and systems may alsoinclude the step of storing the transaction receipt in the memory.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransacting, including issuing personal health care information to auniversal electronic transaction facility in a form that represents anactual record. In some embodiments the personal health care informationis a patient's electronic medical record. In some embodiments theelectronic medical record is stored on a user device. In someembodiments the electronic medical record includes information relatingto at least one of a patient's address, phone number, email address,emergency contact information, primary care physician, age, height,weight, blood type, medical conditions (e.g., disease, blood pressure,cholesterol levels), currently prescribed medications, allergies,previous surgeries, previous health care providers, current healthinsurance provider and policy number. In some embodiments a userinitiates a transaction relating to the personal health care informationwith a health care provider. In some embodiments a user transmits hiselectronic medical record to the electronic network of a health careprovider. In some embodiments a user transmits his electronic medicalrecord to the electronic network of a health insurer. In someembodiments a health care provider transmits new information to theuser's electronic medical record. In some embodiments the personalhealth care information relates to health insurance carrier information.In some embodiments the health insurance carrier information includesinformation relating to at least one of a health maintenanceorganization, preferred provider organization, policy number, primarycare physician automated referral authorization and service approval. Insome embodiments the personal health care information relates to aprescription. In some embodiments the prescription includes at least oneof a link with pharmacy; doctor; link with a patient, link withhospital, link with a doctor's office, pay for prescription on phoneitself and just pick up at the pharmacist, link to health insurance, anda link to a reimbursor. In some embodiments the record comprises anelectronic medical record. In some embodiments the medical recordincludes information related to at least one of a complete medicalrecord containing treatment history, current medications, physicians,disease, and morbidities. In some embodiments the record comprises aninformed consent. In some embodiments the informed consent includesinformation related to at least one of treatment, health care proxy, andparticipation in clinical trials. In some embodiments the recordcomprises organ donor information. In some embodiments the organ donorinformation relates to at least one of what is to be donated, anappropriate signed consent, and witness form. In some embodiments therecord comprises medical emergency contact information. In someembodiments the medical emergency contact information includes at leastone of an address, phone, location of medical records, allergies tomedications, list of current medications person is taking, blood type,disease, and morbidities present in person.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems fortransacting, including issuing a secure voting ballot to a universalelectronic transaction facility. In some embodiments the ballotcomprises a representation of an actual ballot. The methods and systemsmay also include the step of using the universal transaction facility tomake a vote. The methods and systems may also include the step ofissuing a receipt in response to the vote. In some embodiments a useruses the universal electronic transaction facility to make a votingtransaction in connection with a vote. In some embodiments the vote isfor a public election. In some embodiments the vote is for publicelected officials. In some embodiments the elected officials compriselocal, municipal, county, state, and federal government. In someembodiments the vote is for referendum items. In some embodiments thevote is for a corporate election. In some embodiments voting comprisesdirectors, shareholders, proxies, and tender offers. In some embodimentsthe vote is for a product. In some embodiments a user votes as part of asurvey. In some embodiments a corporation conducts a product survey. Insome embodiments a product survey is conducted while at home. In someembodiments the product survey is conducted while in a store. In someembodiments the product survey is conducted while viewing anadvertisement. In some embodiments the vote is for entertainment. Insome embodiments the entertainment vote is part of a show. In someembodiments the vote is by the attending audience. In some embodimentsthe vote is by television viewers. In some embodiments a vote is for afavorite show. In some embodiments the show is on television. In someembodiments the show is in the movies. In some embodiments a vote is foran alternate ending to a show. In some embodiments the vote is for abill or legislation. In some embodiments the vote is by electedofficials. In some embodiments the elected officials vote in a senate.In some embodiments the elected officials vote in a house ofrepresentatives. In some embodiments there is an acknowledgement to thevote. In some embodiments the user client facility receives a receipt.In some embodiments the receipt is a facsimile of the ballot. In someembodiments the ballot is marked to indicate a recorded vote. In someembodiments the vote is recorded late. In some embodiments the votereceipt to the user indicates the vote was received late. In someembodiments the user is informed when the next election is. In someembodiments the users identification is marked as voted. In someembodiments the user is not able to vote in the same election more thanonce. In some embodiments at least one ballot is stored on the clientfacility. In some embodiments a ballot comprises local, municipal,county, state, federal, corporate, entertainment, product, or billelections. In some embodiments the user selects a ballot to vote. Insome embodiments a voter is reminded to vote. The methods and systemsmay also include a user being issued an actual ballot facsimile. In someembodiments the organization taking the vote sends the ballot facsimile.In some embodiments the user request a ballot facsimile from a voteorganization. The methods and systems may also include the user clientfacility stores at least one ballot facsimile. In some embodiments theballot has attributes. In some embodiments the attributes comprise name,address, personal identification, vote date, vote start time, vote endtime, or other attribute for voting. The methods and systems may alsoinclude the user transacts a vote. In some embodiments the user selectsa ballot. In some embodiments the user marks a ballot with the usersvote. The methods and systems may also include the polling locationissues a receipt of voting. In some embodiments the receipt is afacsimile of the ballot marked with a voting acknowledgement. In someembodiments the receipt is a facsimile of an acknowledgement of voting.The methods and systems may also include the user archiving the receiptof the voting. In some embodiments the archive is by user-definedcategory. In some embodiments at least one receipt is archived. Themethods and systems may also include secure transaction capability,using a client facility and supported by a secure distributed web-basedplatform. In some embodiments secure transaction through any clientfacility. The methods and systems may also include the ability to issue,securely and electronically, entire token. In some embodiments the tokenhas all necessary images, branding, and/or data for conductingtransactions. In some embodiments the token is transmitted directly to auser. In some embodiments transmitted through a wired and/or wirelessmedium. In some embodiments transmitted to a personal client facilityincluding PCs, mobile phones, etc., and/or a public device for temporarypersonal use. The methods and systems may also include the ability toreproduce, securely and electronically, multiple existing card, account,and vendor information. In some embodiments the reproduction containsbranding and images, with necessary data for conducting transactions. Insome embodiments reproduction is on client facility. The methods andsystems may also include the ability to conduct secure transactions,such as using Infrared, RF, and Bar-Codes, or using various forms ofover-the-air transactions. The methods and systems may also include theability to issue to client facility securely and electronically, areceipt or acknowledgement related to transactions conducted. In someembodiments transactions may be performed locally. In some embodimentstransactions are performed using over-the-air transactions. The methodsand systems may also include the ability to securely and electronicallyinteract with multiple domains, through any wired and/or wirelessmedium. In some embodiments transactions are used to procurepersonalized tokens. In some embodiments a UET is used to initiate andcomplete transactions. In some embodiments to a user receives receipt oracknowledgement of transaction.

The methods and systems may also include the ability to secure allproximity and over-the-air transactions, including issuance of tokensand receipts, using three-dimensional authentication. In someembodiments the three dimensional verifying is the identification of theuser, device and domain for every transaction. In some embodiments thisincludes using cryptography tools. In some embodiments a user maycustomize the public/private key infrastructure on a per user, perdevice and per domain basis. The methods and systems may also includethe ability to securely encrypt tokens and receipts, where tokens andreceipts are issued. In some embodiments when tokens and receipts arestored on the client facility.

The methods and systems may also include the ability to configure theuser-interface and personalized/non-personalized applications on theclient facility, optionally based on the user's preferences and in someembodiments through the support of an Expert system. In some embodimentsan expert system operates over a period of time based on the user'sbehavior, usage patterns, transaction history and qualified externalinputs.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forenabling a security transaction, including issuing personal informationto a universal electronic transaction facility, wherein the personalinformation is adapted to be used in connection with a transaction;wherein the transaction may involve the communication of a facsimile ofan actual object. In some embodiments the personal information includesinformation about the user. In some embodiments the personal informationis at least one of a phone number, address, email address, socialsecurity number, drivers license, credit card accounts, debit cardaccounts, business card information, address book, and email addressbook. In some embodiments the personal information is communicatedthrough a security facility. In some embodiments the personalinformation is encrypted. In some embodiments the personal informationis stored encrypted. In some embodiments the personal information istransmitted encrypted. In some embodiments the personal informationincludes information about user acquaintances. In some embodiments thepersonal information is at least one of a phone number, address, emailaddress, and business card information. In some embodiments theacquaintance's personal information is communicated with securitymethods. In some embodiments the personal information is encrypted. Insome embodiments the personal information is stored in an encryptedform. In some embodiments the personal information is transmitted in anencrypted form. In some embodiments the personal information managertracks user activity. In some embodiments the personal informationmanager tracks monetary transactions. In some embodiments the personalinformation manager tracks acquaintance communications. In someembodiments the personal information manager recognizes groups ofacquaintances as being associated. In some embodiments the personalinformation manager provides additional contacts. In some embodimentsthe additional contacts are determined by the user contact of anacquaintance group. In some embodiments the contacts are by email. Insome embodiments the contacts are by phone. In some embodiments thepersonal information manager interacts with a user's location. In someembodiments the user's location is determined by GPS. In someembodiments the user's location is by cell tower triangulation. In someembodiments the personal information manager determines a user'sproximity to acquaintances. In some embodiments the proximity isdetermined at least in part by comparing the user's location to peoplein close proximity that match the information in the user's addressbook. In some embodiments the object comprises at least one of a driverlicense, social security card, credit card, debit card, personal ID, andother personal document. The methods and systems may also include thestep of storing one or more replicas of personal information in memoryassociated with the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the replicas include associated attributes. In someembodiments an attribute comprises at least one of a name, address,valid dates, height, weight, and ID number. The methods and systems mayalso include the transmission of personal information at a point of atransaction. In some embodiments the point of transaction is remote fromrecipient. In some embodiments the point of transaction is local to therecipient. The methods and systems may also include the user receiving areply from a transaction. In some embodiments the reply comprises anemail, a message, a business card, an address card, or a phone number.The methods and systems may also include the step of the user archivingthe replica of a reply. In some embodiments the reply is by type ofdocument. In some embodiments a type of document comprises at least oneof an email, a message, an address, a phone number, and a business card.In some embodiments the archive is initiated by an acquaintance. Themethods and systems may also include providing a secure transactioncapability, wherein the secure transaction capability includes using aclient facility supported by a secure distributed web-based platform.The methods and systems may also include the step of the ability toissue, securely and electronically, an entire token. In some embodimentsthe token includes images, branding, and/or data for conductingtransactions. In some embodiments the token is transmitted directly to auser. In some embodiments the transmission includes transmission througha wired and/or wireless medium. In some embodiments the token istransmitted to a personal client facility including at least one of aPC, mobile phone, and a public device for temporary personal use. Themethods and systems may also include the step of providing the abilityto reproduce, securely and electronically, multiple existing card,account, and vendor information. In some embodiments the reproductioncontains branding and images. In some embodiments the step ofreproduction is accomplished on client facility. The methods and systemsmay also include the step of providing the ability to conduct securetransactions. In some embodiments the secure transactions include theuse of at least one of Infrared, RF, and Bar-Codes. In some embodimentsthe secure transactions include the use of at least one of usingwireless transactions. The methods and systems may also include the stepof providing the ability to issue a receipt or acknowledgement relatedto transactions conducted to a client facility securely.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forenabling a security transaction, including issuing a secure loyalty cardto a universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments theloyalty card relates to at least one of an airline frequent flyer miles,rail frequent miles, hotel frequent stay rewards, store rewards, storecoupons, service business promotions, and store promotions. In someembodiments the loyalty card is adapted to be redeemed at a merchant. Insome embodiments loyalty card is adapted to be redeemed for money. Insome embodiments loyalty card is adapted to be redeemed for products. Insome embodiments loyalty card is adapted to be redeemed for services. Insome embodiments a user initiates a loyalty information transactionthrough the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the transaction is targeted to a merchant. In someembodiments transaction is targeted to a common set of merchants. Insome embodiments transaction is targeted to all available merchants. Insome embodiments a merchant initiates a loyalty information transactionthrough the universal electronic transaction facility. In someembodiments the merchant transmits loyalty information to apredetermined list of users. In some embodiments a merchant transmitsloyalty information to a common set of users. In some embodiments amerchant transmits loyalty information to all associated users. Themethods and systems may also include the step of storing a loyalty cardreplica with associated attributes. The methods and systems may alsoinclude the step of transmitting a redemption communication from theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In some embodiments theredemption takes place remotely. In some embodiments the redemptiontakes place at the business location. In some embodiments the redemptiontakes place in real time. The methods and systems may also include thestep of providing a transaction receipt by a merchant of thetransaction. In some embodiments the receipt takes place remotely. Insome embodiments the receipt takes place at the business location. Insome embodiments the receipt is in real time. The methods and systemsmay also include the step of storing the receipt in memory associatedwith the universal electronic transaction facility. In some embodimentsmore than one receipt is stored. The methods and systems may alsoinclude providing secure transaction capability, using a client facilitysupported by a secure distributed web-based platform. In someembodiments secure transaction through any client facility. The methodsand systems may also include the step of issuing an entire token,securely and electronically. In some embodiments the token has allnecessary images, branding, and/or data for conducting transactions. Insome embodiments the token is transmitted directly to a user. In someembodiments transmitted through a wired and/or wireless medium. In someembodiments transmitted to a personal client facility including PCs,mobile phones, etc., and/or a public device for temporary personal use.The methods and systems may also include the step of providing areproduction facility adapted to reproduce, securely and electronically,multiple existing card, account, and vendor information. In someembodiments the reproduction contains branding and images, withnecessary data for conducting transactions. In some embodimentsreproduction is on client facility. The methods and systems may alsoinclude the step of enabling the universal electronic transactionfacility with the ability to conduct secure transactions, such asthrough Infrared, RF, and Bar-Codes or various forms of wirelesstransactions. The methods and systems may also include the step ofproviding a receipt. The methods and systems may also include the stepof adapting the transaction facility to securely and electronicallyinteract with multiple domains, through any wired and/or wirelessmedium. In some embodiments methods and systems are used to procurepersonalized tokens. In some embodiments methods and systems are used toinitiate and complete transactions. In some embodiments methods andsystems are used to receive receipt or acknowledgement of transaction.The methods and systems may also include the step of adapting thetransaction facility to secure all proximity and wireless transactions,including issuance of tokens and receipts, using three-dimensionalauthentication. In some embodiments the three dimensional verifying isthe identification of the user, device and domain for every transaction.In some embodiments using cryptography tools. In some embodimentsmethods and systems are used to customize the public/private keyinfrastructure on a per user, per device and per domain basis. Themethods and systems may also include the step of adapting thetransaction facility with the ability to securely encrypt tokens andreceipts. In some embodiments when tokens and receipts are issued. Insome embodiments tokens and receipts are stored on the client facility.The methods and systems may also include the step of adapting thetransaction facility ability to configure the user-interface andpersonalized/non-personalized applications on the client facility. Insome embodiments a device is configured based on the user's preferences.In some embodiments a device is configured through the support of anexpert system (e.g. over a period of time a device is automaticallyconfigured based on the user's behavior, usage patterns, transactionhistory and qualified external inputs). The methods and systems may alsoinclude the adapting the transaction facility with the ability toprovision multiple tokens, multiple services and multiplepersonalized/non-personalized applications, with a high level ofthroughput, efficiency, and fault tolerance. In some embodiments basedon the User's preferences and through the support of an expert system.In some embodiments based on the user's behavior, usage patterns,transaction history and qualified external inputs.

Methods and systems disclosed herein include methods and systems forenabling a transaction, including issuing an infotainment file to auniversal electronic transaction facility and making a transactionassociated with the infotainment. In some embodiments infotainment isfrom a group comprising movies, movie clips, radio programming,electronic books, video, games, video games, music, and music clips. Insome embodiments the infotainment is played on the user client facility.In some embodiments the infotainment has a license. The methods andsystems may also include the storage of infotainment replicas. In someembodiments at least one version of infotainment replica is stored. Insome embodiments at least one type of infotainment replica is stored.The methods and systems may also include the transmission of a purchaserequest is made. In some embodiments the purchase is made remotely. Insome embodiments the purchase is made at a sales location. In someembodiments funds are transferred from the user during a purchaserequest. In some embodiments the fund transaction is in real time. Themethods and systems may also include the transmission of a receipt froma merchant. In some embodiments the receipt is transmitted remotely. Insome embodiments the receipt is transmitted at the sales location. Insome embodiments the receipt is transmitted in real time. The methodsand systems may also include the archive of the receipt replica by theuser. In some embodiments the user client may store at least onereplica. In some embodiments the user client may store replicas for atleast one merchant. The methods and systems may also include providingsecure transaction capability, using a client facility and supported bya secure distributed web-based platform. In some embodiments securetransaction through any client facility. The methods and systems mayalso include adapting the transaction facility with the ability toissue, securely and electronically, an entire token. In some embodimentsthe token has all necessary images, branding, and/or data for conductingtransactions. In some embodiments the token is transmitted directly to auser. In some embodiments the token is transmitted through a wiredand/or wireless medium. In some embodiments the token is transmitted toa personal client facility including PCs, mobile phones, etc., and/or apublic device for temporary personal use.

The methods and systems may also include adapting the transactionfacility with the ability to reproduce, securely and electronically,multiple existing card, account, and vendor information. In someembodiments the reproduction contains branding and images, withnecessary data for conducting transactions. In some embodimentsreproduction is on a client facility. The methods and systems may alsoinclude adapting the transaction facility with the ability to conductsecure transactions, such as using Infrared, RF, and bar codes, usingover-the-air transactions or the like. The methods and systems may alsoinclude adapting the transaction facility with the ability to issue toclient facility securely and electronically, a receipt oracknowledgement related to transactions conducted. In some embodiments areceipt or acknowledgement is issued at a location of the user, such asa merchant location, optionally using over-the-air transactions. Themethods and systems may also include adapting the transaction facilitywith the ability to securely and electronically interact with multipledomains, through any wired and/or wireless medium, such as to procurepersonalized tokens, to initiate and complete transactions or to receivereceipt or acknowledgement of transaction. The methods and systems mayalso include adapting the transaction facility with the ability tosecure all proximity and over-the-air transactions, including issuanceof tokens and receipts, using three-dimensional authentication. In someembodiments the three-dimensional verifying is the identification of theuser, device and domain for every transaction, optionally using knowncryptography tools, such as DES encryption, PGP encryption, publickey-private key techniques, or other cryptography tools. In someembodiments a host may customize the public/private key infrastructureon a per user, per device and per domain basis. The methods and systemsmay also include adapting the transaction facility with the ability tosecurely encrypt tokens and receipts when tokens and receipts areissued. In some embodiments when tokens and receipts are stored on theclient facility. The methods and systems may also include adapting thetransaction facility with the ability to configure the user-interfaceand personalized/non-personalized applications on the client facility,such as based on preferences, such as through an expert system.Personalization or configuration may take place over a period of timebased on the user's behavior, usage patterns, transaction history andqualified external inputs. The methods and systems may also includeadapting the transaction facility with the ability to provision multipletokens, multiple services and multiple personalized/non-personalizedapplications, with a high level of throughput, efficiency, and faulttolerance, optionally based on the User's preferences and through thesupport of an expert system. In some embodiments based on the user'sbehavior, usage patterns, transaction history and qualified externalinputs. These and other systems, methods, objects, features, andadvantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment and the drawings. All documents mentioned herein are herebyincorporated in their entirety by reference.

Provided herein may be methods and systems for providing universalelectronic transactions. In an aspect of the invention, a method mayinvolve providing a universal electronic transaction facility. Invariations of this method, the universal electronic transaction facilitymay be capable of providing a separate security protocol based on atleast a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In variations of this method, the method mayfurther comprise providing a secure, distributed web-based platform thatis associated with the universal electronic transaction facility. Inversions of this variation, the method may further comprise providing asecure transaction capability to a user via the universal electronictransaction facility and in association with the web-based platform.

In variations of this method, the method may further comprise providinga secure transaction capability to a user via the universal electronictransaction facility. In versions of this variation, the transactioncapability is associated with a payment application. In versions of thisvariation, the transaction capability is associated with a non-paymentapplication. In versions of this variation, the secure transactioncapability may comprise an ability to issue an acknowledgement of atransaction to the universal electronic transaction facility. Theacknowledgement may be a receipt.

In variations of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a client device. In variations of this method, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may operate in accordance witha wallet metaphor. In variations of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may not operate in accordance with awallet metaphor.

In variations of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a personal device. In variations of this method, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may be a public device. Invariations of this method, the universal electronic transaction facilitymay be capable of interacting with multiple domains.

In variations of this method, the method may further comprisetransmitting data to the universal transaction facility. In versions ofthis variation, the data may be at least one of an acknowledgement, areceipt, a token. In versions of this variation, the universalelectronic transaction facility is capable of encrypting the data at theuniversal electronic transaction facility. The universal electronictransaction facility may further be capable of storing the encrypteddata at the universal electronic transaction facility. The data may beone or more instances of one or more of the following things: a bill, anacknowledgement, a receipt, a statement, a loyalty statement, a coupon,a promotion, a transaction summary, a violation record, a ticket, adriver's license, a check book, a check, a token.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may comprise a universalelectronic transaction facility. In variations of this system, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a generator of aseparate security protocol based on at least a domain, a device and auser of the universal electronic transaction facility. In variations ofthis system, the system may further comprise a secure, distributedweb-based platform that is associated with the universal electronictransaction facility. In versions of this variation, the system mayfurther comprise a secure transaction capability associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility and the web-based platform

In variations of this system, the system may further comprise a securetransaction capability in association with the universal electronictransaction facility. In versions of this variation, the transactioncapability is associated with a payment application. In versions of thisvariation, the transaction capability is associated with a non-paymentapplication. In versions of this variation, the secure transactioncapability may comprise a transaction acknowledgement facility incommunication with the universal electronic transaction facility. Theacknowledgement facility may include a receipt.

In variations of this system, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a client device. In variations of this system, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may be operable in accordancewith a wallet metaphor. In variations of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may not be operable in accordance with awallet metaphor.

In variations of this system, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a personal device. In variations of this system, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may be a public device. Invariations of this system, the universal electronic transaction facilityincludes interaction capability for multiple domains.

In variations of this system, the system may further comprise a datatransmission facility in communication with the universal transactionfacility. In versions of this variation, the data transmission facilityincludes at least one of an acknowledgement, a receipt, a token. Inversions of this variation, the universal electronic transactionfacility includes a data encryption facility. The universal electronictransaction facility may further include an encrypted data storagefacility. The data storage facility may include data storage capacityfor at least one of a bill, an acknowledgement, a receipt, a statement,a loyalty statement, a coupon, a promotion, a transaction summary, aviolation record, a ticket, a driver's license, a check book, a check, atoken.

In an aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include providingan operative coupling between a universal electronic transactionfacility and an external system. In a variation of this method, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may be capable of providing aseparate security protocol based on at least a domain, a device and auser of the universal electronic transaction facility. In a variation ofthis method, the external system is a transactional system. In versionsof this variation, the transactional system is a point-of-sale system.

In variations of this method, the operative coupling is secure. Invariations of this method, the operative coupling is wireless. Invariations of this method, the operative coupling is wired.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and an external system operativelycoupled thereto. In an embodiment of the system, the universalelectronic transaction facility may include a separate security protocolfacility based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In an embodiment of thesystem, the external system is a transactional system. In versions ofthis embodiment, the transactional system is a point-of-sale system.

In embodiments of the system, operatively coupled is securely coupled.In embodiments of the system, operatively coupled is wirelessly coupled.In embodiments of the system, operatively coupled is wired.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may comprise receiving datafrom a universal electronic transaction facility and conducting anaction in response to the data received from a universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be capable of providing a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility.

In a variation of this method, the method further comprises issuing atoken to a user of a universal electronic transaction facility prior toreceiving the data, wherein the data is associated with the token. Inversions of this variation, the action may be a transaction that isbased on verification of the token. The transaction may be conducted ina real world. The real world may contain a device-to-devicecommunication. The real world may contain a bar code and bar codereader. The transaction conducted in a real world may be a proximitytransaction. The transaction may be conducted in a virtual world. Thetransaction conducted in a virtual world may be an over-the-airtransaction. The transaction may be associated with a biometricparameter. The transaction may not be associated with a biometricparameter. In versions of this variation, issuing the token may be donesecurely and electronically. In versions of this variation, the tokenmay be personalized to the user. In versions of this variation, thetoken may not be personalized to the user. In versions of thisvariation, the token may encompass necessary data for conducting theaction. In versions of this variation, the token may encode at least oneof an image or branding. In versions of this variation, issuing thetoken may be done over a wired medium. In versions of this variation,issuing the token may be done over a wireless medium. In versions ofthis variation, the token may be associated with at least one of acredit card, a bank account, a frequent flyer card, a stored value card,a loyalty card, an insurance card, a driver's license, a bill, or acoupon.

In a variation of this method, the method may further comprise issuing aplurality of tokens to a user of a universal electronic transactionfacility prior to receiving the data, wherein the data is associatedwith the token. In a variation of this method, the method may furthercomprise securing the action using three-dimensional authentication. Inversions of this variation, three-dimensional authentication may involveverifying the identity of a user, the universal electronic transactionfacility, and a domain.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may comprise a universalelectronic transaction facility and a data receiver in communicationwith the universal electronic transaction facility, wherein the datareceiver is responsive to data received from the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may include a separate security protocolfacility based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the method may further comprise a data token associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. Versions of this variationmay further comprise a token verification transaction. The tokenverification transaction may be a real world transaction. The real worldtransaction may include device-to-device communication. The real worldtransaction may include a bar code reader and a bar code. The real worldtransaction may be a proximity transaction. The token verificationtransaction may be a virtual world transaction. The virtual worldtransaction may be an over-the-air transaction. The token verificationtransaction may be associated with a biometric parameter. The tokenverification transaction may not be associated with a biometricparameter. The token verification transaction may further be associatedwith three-dimensional authentication security. Three-dimensionalauthentication may include a user identity verification facility, auniversal electronic transaction verification facility, and a domainverification facility. In versions of this variation, the data token maybe secure and electronic. The version may further comprise a pluralityof user data tokens associated with the universal electronictransaction, wherein data is associated with each user data token. Inversions of this variation, the data token may be personalized to auser. In versions of this variation, the data token may not bepersonalized to a user. In versions of this variation, the data tokenmay include necessary data for an action. In versions of this variation,the data token may include encoding for at least one of an image orbranding. In versions of this variation, the association of the datatoken may be over a wired medium. In versions of this variation, theassociation of the data token may be over a wireless medium. In versionsof this variation, the association of the data token may be with atleast one of a credit card, a bank account, a frequent flyer card, astored value card, a loyalty card, an insurance card, a driver'slicense, a bill, or a coupon.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of providing a service mayinclude communicating with a universal electronic transaction facilityand communicating with a service provider. In a variation of thismethod, the communication may be associated with the provision of aservice that is provided by the service provider. In versions of thisvariation, the service is provided to the user via the universalelectronic transaction facility. In versions of this variation, theservice may be one of the following services: bill payment,person-to-person transaction, money order/transfer, prepaid airtimetop-up, ticketing, marketing, electronic checking, licensing, healthservice, travel service, infotainment service, personal informationmanagement service, training, a lottery, voting.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be capable of providing a separate security protocol basedon at least a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the communicationmay be secure. In versions of this variation, the secure communicationis provided according to three-dimensional authentication.

In a variation of this method, the communication may be associated withthe provision of a plurality of services that are provided by at leastone of the service provider and a second service provider. In avariation of this method, the communication may be associated with aplurality of applications. In versions of this variation, at least oneof the applications may be personalized. In versions of this variation,at least one of the applications may be non-personalized.

In a variation of this method, the communication may be in accordancewith a user preference. In a variation of this method, the communicationmay be in accordance with data that is provided by an expert system.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may comprise a universalelectronic transaction facility and a service provider in communicationtherewith. In a variation of the system, the service provider mayinclude a service facility responsive to said communication. In aversion of this variation, the service facility may include one of thefollowing services: bill payment, person-to-person transaction, moneyorder/transfer, prepaid airtime top-up, ticketing, marketing, electronicchecking, licensing, health service, travel service, infotainmentservice, personal information management service, training, a lottery,voting. In a variation of the system, the universal electronictransaction facility may include a separate security protocol capacitybased on at least a domain, a device and a user of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In versions of this variation, theservice provider may be in communication with a user via the universalelectronic transaction facility.

In a variation of the system, the communication is secure. In versionsof this variation, the secure communication is three-dimensionalauthentication. In a variation of the system, the system may furthercomprise a second service provider and a plurality of servicesassociated with the at least one of the service provider and a secondservice provider. In a variation of the system, the system may furthercomprise a plurality of applications associated with the serviceprovider. In versions of this variation, at least one of theapplications may be personalized. In versions of this variation, atleast one of the applications may be non-personalized.

In a variation of the system, the communication may be in accordancewith a user preference. In a variation of the system, the communicationmay be in accordance with data that are provided by an expert system.

In an aspect of the invention, a method may include providing amultidimensional database in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be capable of providing a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include amultidimensional database and a universal electronic transactionfacility in association therewith. In an embodiment of this system, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility.

In an aspect of the invention, a method may include providing apersonalized token in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be capable of providing a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the personalized token may be an official electronic identifierof the user. In versions of this variation, the personalized token maybe associated with at least one of the following things: a driver'slicense, a passport. In versions of this variation, the personalizedtoken may be at least one of the following kinds of token: a secure andelectronic token, a branded token. In a variation of this method, thepersonalized token may be provided at a point of transaction. In avariation of this method, the personalized token may be provided in realtime.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a personalized token in associationtherewith. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may include a separate security protocol based onat least a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this system, the personalizedtoken may be an official electronic identifier of a user. In versions ofthis variation, the personalized token may be associated with at leastone of the following: a driver's license, a passport. In versions ofthis variation, the personalized token may be at least one of thefollowing: a secure and electronic token, a branded token.

In a variation of this system, the personalized token may be a point oftransaction token. In a variation of this system, the personalized tokenmay be a real time token.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing amerchant-oriented user interface in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility, wherein the user interface allows themerchant to issue a token to a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be capable of providing a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the token is a branded token. In a version of this variation,the branded token may be secure and electronic. In a version of thisvariation, the branded token may be associated with at least one of thefollowing things: a driver's license, a passport, a statement, a coupon,a promotion, a ticket, a ticket associated with a violation, a checkbook, a check, a secure and electronic token, a branded token, a creditcard, a bank account, a frequent flyer card, a stored value card, aloyalty card, an insurance card, a bill, a bill, a merchant-issuedcredit card, a merchant-issued loyalty card, prepaid airtime, a moneyorder, a money transfer, an account

In another aspect of the invention, a system may comprise a universalelectronic transaction facility and a merchant-oriented user interfacein association therewith, wherein the merchant-oriented user interfaceincludes a user token issuing facility in communication with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thissystem, the universal electronic transaction facility may include aseparate security protocol based on at least a domain, a device and auser of the universal electronic transaction facility. In a variation ofthis system, the user token issuing facility may include a branded tokenissuing facility. In a version of this variation, the branded tokenissuing facility may be secure and electronic. In a version of thisvariation, the branded token issuing facility may be associated with atleast one of the following: a driver's license, a passport, a statement,a coupon, a promotion, a ticket, a ticket associated with a violation, acheck book, a check, a secure and electronic token, a branded token, acredit card, a bank account, a frequent flyer card, a stored value card,a loyalty card, an insurance card, a bill, a bill, a merchant-issuedcredit card, a merchant-issued loyalty card, prepaid airtime, a moneyorder, a money transfer, an account.

In an aspect of the invention, a method may include providing a userinterface for initializing a universal electronic transaction facility.In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be capable of providing a separate security protocol basedon at least a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the user interfacemay allow a user to manage at least one parameter of the universalelectronic transaction facility. In versions of this variation, the atleast one parameter may be associated with at least one of the followingthings: a domain, a device, a user identifier, a password, a securityprotocol. In a variation of this method, the user may be anadministrator.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may include a user interface,wherein the user interface includes an initializing facility for auniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thissystem, the system may further comprise a separate security protocolbased on at least a domain, a device and a universal electronictransaction facility user. In a variation of this system, the userinterface may include a management facility in association with at leastone universal electronic transaction facility parameter. In versions ofthis variation, the at least one universal electronic transactionfacility parameter may be associated with at least one of the following:a domain, a device, a user identifier, a password, a security protocol.In a variation of the system, the user interface may be an administratorinterface.

In an aspect of the invention, a method may include providing a mobilewallet in association with a universal electronic transaction facility.In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be capable of providing a separate security protocol basedon at least a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the mobile walletmay include an electronic representation of an item that is associatedwith a user. In a version of this variation, the item may be at leastone of the following things: a driver's license, a passport, astatement, a coupon, a promotion, a ticket, a ticket associated with aviolation, a check book, a check, a secure and electronic token, abranded token, a credit card, a back card, a bank account, a frequentflyer card, a stored value card, a loyalty card, an insurance card, abill, a bill, a merchant-issued credit card, a merchant-issued loyaltycard, prepaid airtime, a money order, a money transfer, an account. In aversion of this variation, the item may be an official identity documentof the user.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a mobile wallet in associationtherewith. In a variation of this system, the system may furthercomprise a separate security protocol based on at least a domain, adevice and a user of the universal electronic transaction facility,wherein the separate security protocol is associated with the universalelectronic transaction facility. In a variation of this system, themobile wallet may include an electronic representation of a user item.In versions of this variation, the user item may be at least one of thefollowing: a driver's license, a passport, a statement, a coupon, apromotion, a ticket, a ticket associated with a violation, a check book,a check, a secure and electronic token, a branded token, a credit card,a back card, a bank account, a frequent flyer card, a stored value card,a loyalty card, an insurance card, a bill, a bill, a merchant-issuedcredit card, a merchant-issued loyalty card, prepaid airtime, a moneyorder, a money transfer, an account. In versions of this variation, theuser item may be an official identity document of a user.

In an aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility that is adapted to support atransaction within a non-standard transaction domain. In a variation ofthis method, the universal electronic transaction facility may becapable of providing a separate security protocol based on at least adomain, a device and a user of the universal electronic transactionfacility. In a variation of this method, the non-standard transactiondomain may be the Web and the universal electronic transaction facilitysupports transactions using a secure, Web-based, personalized portal. Ina variation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with gaming and the universal electronic transaction facilitysupports transactions using a secure gaming portal. In a variation ofthis method, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated witha merchant and the universal electronic transaction facility supportstransactions using a secure merchant portal. In a variation of thismethod, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated with agovernment and the universal electronic transaction facility supportstransactions using a secure governmental portal. In a variation of thismethod, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated with anenterprise and the universal electronic transaction facility supportstransactions using a secure enterprise portal. In a variation of thismethod, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated withhealth/fitness and the universal electronic transaction facilitysupports transactions using a secure health/fitness portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a religion and the universal electronic transactionfacility supports transactions using a secure religious portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a sport and the universal electronic transactionfacility supports transactions using a secure sports portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with insurance and the universal electronic transactionfacility supports transactions using a secure insurance portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a university and the universal electronic transactionfacility supports transactions using a secure university portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a party and the universal electronic transactionfacility supports transactions using a secure party portal. In versionsof this variation, the party may be a political party. In a variation ofthis method, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated witha pharma-exchange and the universal electronic transaction facilitysupports transactions using a secure pharma-exchange portal. In avariation of this method, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a commodity exchange and the universal electronictransaction facility supports transactions using a secure commodityexchange portal. In a variation of this method, the non-standardtransaction domain may be associated with an airline and the universalelectronic transaction facility supports transactions using a secureairline portal. In a variation of this method, the non-standardtransaction domain may be associated with transportation and theuniversal electronic transaction facility supports transactions using asecure transportation portal.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility adapted to support a transaction withina non-standard transaction domain. In a variation of this system, thesystem may further comprise a separate security protocol based on atleast a domain, a device and a universal electronic transaction facilityuser, wherein the separate security protocol is associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thissystem, the non-standard transaction domain may be the Web and theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a secure,Web-based, personalized portal. In a variation of this system, thenon-standard transaction domain may be associated with gaming and theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a secure gamingportal. In a variation of this system, the non-standard transactiondomain may be associated with a merchant and the universal electronictransaction facility may include a secure merchant portal. In avariation of this system, the non-standard transaction domain may beassociated with a government and the universal electronic transactionfacility may include a secure governmental portal. In a variation ofthis system, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated withan enterprise and the universal electronic transaction facility mayinclude a secure enterprise portal. In a variation of this system, thenon-standard transaction domain may be associated with health/fitnessand the universal electronic transaction facility may include a securehealth/fitness portal. In a variation of this system, the non-standardtransaction domain may be associated with a religion and the universalelectronic transaction facility may include a secure religious portal.In a variation of this system, the non-standard transaction domain maybe associated with a sport and the universal electronic transaction mayinclude a secure sports portal. In a variation of this system, thenon-standard transaction domain may be associated with insurance and theuniversal electronic transaction facility system may include a secureinsurance portal. In a variation of this system, the non-standardtransaction domain may be associated with a university and the universalelectronic transaction facility may include a secure university portal.In a variation of this system, the non-standard transaction domain maybe associated with a party and the universal electronic transactionfacility may include a secure party portal. In versions of thisvariation, the party may be a political party. In a variation of thissystem, the non-standard transaction domain may be associated with apharma-exchange and the universal electronic transaction facility mayinclude a secure pharma-exchange portal. In a variation of this system,the non-standard transaction domain may be associated with a commodityexchange and the universal electronic transaction facility may include asecure commodity exchange portal. In a variation of this system, thenon-standard transaction domain may be associated with an airline andthe universal electronic transaction facility may include a secureairline portal. In a variation of this system, the non-standardtransaction domain may be associated with transportation and theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a securetransportation portal.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may comprise providing afinancial service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may be capable of providing a separate securityprotocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the financial service may be selected from the group consistingof bill payment, person-to-person payment, money order payment, fundstransfer, a top-up transaction, a ticketing transaction, issuance of acoupon, and resolution of a check.

In a variation of this method, the financial service may includesecurely issuing, to the universal electronic transaction facility, atleast one electronic replica of at least one of the following items: abill from a bill issuer, a payment token, money order, money transfertoken, a prepaid airtime token, a ticket, a ticket associated with aviolation, a loyalty card, an account, a coupon, a promotion, a checkbook, a check, a license, a driver's license.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude communicating at least one of branding, an image, informationrequired to complete a transaction. The transaction may involveprocuring a service from a merchant. The transaction may be aprocurement of a service from a ticket issuer.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude alerting a user based on at least one attribute of the at leastone item. The attribute may be associated with at least one of a date ofexpiry, a change of address, a number of a check, a number of checksremaining, a number of days before a coupon can be redeemed, aredemption date, a date of travel, a due date, a time, a time ofissuance, a financial balance.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude enabling a user to securely pay the bill using universalelectronic transaction facility. Paying the bill may occur in real time.Paying the bill may be associated with an on-line settlement of the billpaying the bill is associated with an off-line settlement of the bill.Paying the bill may be associated with at least one of a preferred modeof payment, a preferred time, a preferred location.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furthercomprise securely issuing, to the universal electronic transactionfacility, an electronic replica of at least one of the followingconfirmations: a receipt that is associated with a bill; a transactionsummary statement; a marketing vehicle; a ticket associated with aviolation; a license. The license may be at least one of a driver'slicense, a gun license, a liquor license, a fishing license, a huntinglicense. The marketing vehicle may be at least one of a loyalty card, anaccount, a coupon, a promotion. The transaction summary statement may beassociated with a transaction between a user of the universaltransaction facility and another user. The electronic replica maycontain a payment stamp. The financial service may further includeenabling a user to pay another user. The other user may have a universalelectronic transaction facility. Paying another user may occur securelyand in real time. Paying another user may be associated with an on-linesettlement. Paying another user may be associated with an off-linesettlement. The electronic replica may be delivered to a universalelectronic transaction facility of a user that receives funds accordingto the financial service. The electronic replica may contain a summarythat is associated with the financial service. The summary may be afrequent flyer summary. The electronic replica may include a cancelledcheck.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude enabling a transfer of units that is securely initiated at theuniversal electronic transaction facility. The financial service mayinclude debiting units from a first account and crediting at units to asecond account, wherein at least one of the debiting or crediting iscontingent on validating a user and a request. Enabling the financialservice may include issuing a request to a service provider, wherein therequest is associated with completing the crediting and debiting underthe control of the service provider. Issuing the transfer may beinitiated via wireless communications. Issuing the transfer may beinitiated via proximity-based communications. The units may be financialunits. The units may be airtime units. The financial service may furthercomprise enabling a use of the funds by the user that receives thefunds. The financial service is a ticket issuance service.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude enabling a top-up of an account, wherein the top-up is securelyinitiated at the universal electronic transaction facility.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude securely redeeming the electronic replica. A wirelesscommunication may initiate securely redeeming the electronic replica. Aproximity-based communication may initiate securely redeeming theelectronic replica.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude securely receiving the electronic replica.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may be theissuance of a ticket that is associated with a violation, and whereinthe electronic replica is of a driver's license.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude a unit transfer enabling facility, wherein the unit transferenabling facility is in secure communication with the universalelectronic transaction facility. The financial service may include aunit debiting facility in association with a first account and a unitcrediting facility in association with a second account, wherein atleast one of the unit debiting facility or unit crediting facility iscontingent on a user and request validation. The financial service mayfurther comprise a service provider request issuance facility associatedwith a service provider crediting and debiting facility. The unittransfer enabling facility may be in communication via wirelesscommunications. The unit transfer enabling facility may be incommunication via proximity-based communications. The unit transferenabling facility may include financial units. The unit transferenabling facility may include financial units. The unit transferenabling facility may include airtime units. The financial service mayfurther comprise a user funds enablement and receipt facility.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a client device.

In an aspect of the invention, a system may comprise a universalelectronic transaction facility and a financial service in associationtherewith. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may include a separate security protocol based onat least a domain, a device and a universal electronic transactionfacility user. In a variation of this system, the financial service maybe selected from the group consisting of bill payment, person-to-personpayment, money order payment, funds transfer, a top-up transaction, aticketing transaction, issuance of a coupon, and resolution of a check.

In a variation of this system, the financial service includes: a secureissuance facility in association with the universal electronictransaction facility and at least one electronic replica of at least oneof the following items: a bill from a bill issuer, a payment token,money order, money transfer token, a prepaid airtime token, a ticket, aticket associated with a violation, a loyalty card, an account, acoupon, a promotion, a check book, a check, a license, a driver'slicense.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude a communication facility comprising at least one of branding, animage, information required to complete a transaction. The transactionmay involve merchant service procurement. The transaction may includeticket issuer service procurement.

In a version of this variation, the financial service further includes auser alert based on at least one attribute of the at least one item. Theattribute may be associated with at least one of a date of expiry, achange of address, a number of a check, a number of checks remaining, anumber of days before a coupon can be redeemed, a redemption date, adate of travel, a due date, a time, a time of issuance, a financialbalance.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude a secure bill payment facility in association with the universalelectronic transaction facility. The secure bill payment facility may bereal time based. The secure bill payment facility may be associated withan on-line settlement of the bill. The secure bill payment facility maybe associated with an off-line settlement of the bill. The secure billpayment facility may be associated with at least one of a preferred modeof payment, a preferred time, a preferred location. The secure billpayment facility may further include a secure electronic replicaredemption facility. The secure electronic replica redemption facilitymay be proximity-based.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furthercomprise a secure electronic replica issuance facility, in communicationwith the universal electronic transaction facility, wherein the secureelectronic replica issuance facility includes an electronic replica ofat least one of the following confirmations: a receipt that isassociated with a bill; a transaction summary statement; a marketingvehicle; a ticket associated with a violation; a license. The licensemay be at least one of a driver's license, a gun license, a liquorlicense, a fishing license, a hunting license. The marketing vehicle maybe at least one of a loyalty card, an account, a coupon, a promotion.The transaction summary statement may be associated with a transactionbetween a user of the universal transaction facility and another user.The electronic replica may contain a payment stamp. The financialservice may further include a user-to-user payment enabling facility fora plurality of users. At least one additional user of the plurality ofusers may have a universal electronic transaction facility. Theuser-to-user payment enabling facility may be secure and in real time.The user-to-user payment enabling facility may be associated with anon-line settlement. The user-to-user payment enabling facility may beassociated with an off-line settlement. The secure electronic replicaissuance facility may include an electronic replica delivery facilityresponsive to: a) the universal electronic transaction facility and b) auser fund receipt facility associated with the financial service. Theelectronic replica may contain a summary that is associated with thefinancial service. The summary may be a frequent flyer summary. Theelectronic replica may include a cancelled check.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude secure account top-up enablement, responsive to the universalelectronic transaction facility.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude secure redemption of the electronic replica.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may furtherinclude a secure electronic replica receiving facility.

In a version of this variation, the financial service may include aticket issuance facility associated with a violation, and wherein theelectronic replica is of a driver's license.

In a variation of this system, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a client device.

Informational Systems and Methods for Universal Electronic TransactionFacilities

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing aninformational service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be capable of providing a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the informational service may be provided upon completion of theseparate security protocols. In a variation of this method, theinformational service may be provided upon completion of the separatesecurity protocols.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and an informational service inassociation therewith. In a variation of this system, the universalelectronic transaction facility includes a separate security protocolbased on at least a domain, a device and a universal electronictransaction facility user. In a variation of this system, theinformational service may be responsive to the separate securityprotocols. In a variation of this system, the informational service mayinclude a personalization facility responsive to a universal electronictransaction facility user.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may comprise implementing auniversal electronic transaction facility on a handheld device of theuser. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may be capable of providing a separate securityprotocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thismethod, the handheld device may be a handset.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a hand-held device implementationfacility in association therewith. In a variation of this system, theuniversal electronic transaction facility may include a separatesecurity protocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In a variation of thissystem, the hand-held device implementation facility may be a handsetimplementation facility.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may comprise providing auniversal electronic transaction facility and displaying a user'sfinancial account information on the universal electronic transactionfacility. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may be capable of providing a separate securityprotocol based on at least a domain, a device and a user of theuniversal electronic transaction facility.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may encompass a handheld device of the user. In versions ofthis variation, the handheld device may be a handset.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a user financial account informationdisplay facility in association therewith. In a variation of thissystem, the universal electronic transaction facility may include aseparate security protocol based on at least a domain, a device and auser of the universal electronic transaction facility. In a variation ofthis system, the universal electronic transaction facility may include auser handheld device. In versions of this variation, the user handhelddevice may be a handset.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility and providing a train ticketon the universal electronic transaction facility of a user. In avariation of this method, the universal electronic transaction facilitymay be capable of providing a separate security protocol based on atleast a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may encompass a handheld device of theuser. In versions of this variation, the handheld device may be ahandset.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a user train ticket in associationtherewith. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may include a separate security protocol based onat least a domain, a device and a universal electronic transactionfacility user. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may include a user handheld device. In versions ofthis variation, the user handheld device may be a handset

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility, and providing a securetransaction facility in association with the universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the method mayfurther comprise a client device that interfaces with the securetransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the securetransaction facility may be supported by a secure distributed web-basedplatform. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may operate in accordance with a wallet metaphor.In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be associated with a payment application. In a variation ofthis method, the universal electronic transaction facility may bepersonalized for a user. In versions of this variation, the user may beidentified to the system via a RFID.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility, and a secure transaction facility inassociation with the universal electronic transaction facility. In avariation of this system, the system further comprises a client devicethat interfaces with the secure transaction facility. In a variation ofthis system, the secure transaction facility may be supported by asecure distributed web-based platform. In a variation of this system,the universal electronic transaction facility may operate in accordancewith a wallet metaphor. In a variation of this system, the universalelectronic transaction facility may operate in accordance with a walletmetaphor. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may be personalized for a user. In versions of thisvariation, the user may be identified to the system via a RFID.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility, wherein the user interfaceallows a user electronically to obtain a token for conductingtransactions

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be capable of providing a separate security protocolassociated with obtaining the token. In a variation of this method, thetoken may be a branded token. In versions of this variation, the brandedtoken may be associated with at least one of the following things: adriver's license, a passport, a statement, a coupon, a promotion, aticket, a ticket associated with a violation, a check book, a check, asecure and electronic token, a branded token, a credit card, a bankaccount, a frequent flyer card, a stored value card, a loyalty card, aninsurance card, a bill, a bill, a merchant-issued credit card, amerchant-issued loyalty card, prepaid airtime, a money order, a moneytransfer, an account. In a variation of this method, the token may beissued directly to a personal client device of the user. In versions ofthis variation, the personal client device may be selected from thegroup consisting of a PC, a mobile phone, and a mobile personalcomputer. In a variation of this method, the token may be issueddirectly to a public client device of the user. In a variation of thismethod, the token may be issued through a wireless medium. In avariation of this method, the token may be issued through a wiredmedium.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility, wherein the user interface allows auser electronically to obtain a token for conducting transactions. In avariation of this system, the universal electronic transaction facilitymay be capable of providing a separate security protocol associated withobtaining the token. In a variation of this system, the token may be abranded token. In versions of this variation, the branded token may beassociated with at least one of the following things: a driver'slicense, a passport, a statement, a coupon, a promotion, a ticket, aticket associated with a violation, a check book, a check, a secure andelectronic token, a branded token, a credit card, a bank account, afrequent flyer card, a stored value card, a loyalty card, an insurancecard, a bill, a bill, a merchant-issued credit card, a merchant-issuedloyalty card, prepaid airtime, a money order, a money transfer, anaccount. In a variation of this system, the token may be issued directlyto a personal client device of the user. In versions of this variation,the personal client device may be selected from the group consisting ofa PC, a mobile phone, and a mobile personal computer. In a variation ofthis system, the token may be issued directly to a public client deviceof the user. In a variation of this system, the token may be issuedthrough a wireless medium. In a variation of this system, the token maybe issued through a wired medium.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility, wherein the user interfaceallows a user securely and electronically to reproduce data forconducting transactions on a client device. In a variation of thismethod, the data for conducting transactions may comprise at least onedata set associated with a first existing account. In versions of thisvariation, the first existing account may be selected from the groupconsisting of a credit card account, a debit account, a bank account, abrokerage firm account, and a vendor account. Versions of this variationmay further comprise a second data set associated with a second existingaccount. The second existing account may be selected from the groupconsisting of a credit card account, a debit account, a bank account, abrokerage firm account, and a vendor account.

In a variation of this method, the user interface may display brandingdata in association with the data for conducting transactions on theclient device. In a variation of this method, the data for conductingtransactions may be reproduced on a personal client device of the user.In a variation of this method, the data for conducting transactions maybe reproduced on a public client device of the user. In versions of thisvariation, the public client device may be designated for temporarypersonal use.

In a variation of this method, the data reproduced on the client devicemay be directly displayed on the client device. In a variation of thismethod, the data reproduced on the client device may be indicated by anon-screen icon. In versions of this variation, the on-screen icon may beassociated with branding data.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility, wherein the user interface allows auser securely and electronically to reproduce data for conductingtransactions on a client device. In a variation of this system, the datafor conducting transactions may comprise at least one data setassociated with a first existing account. In versions of this variation,the first existing account may be selected from the group consisting ofa credit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a brokerage firmaccount, and a vendor account. Versions of this variation may furthercomprise a second data set associated with a second existing account.The second existing account may be selected from the group consisting ofa credit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a brokerage firmaccount, and a vendor account.

In a variation of this system, the user interface may display brandingdata in association with the data for conducting transactions on theclient device. In a variation of this system, the data for conductingtransactions may be reproduced on a personal client device of the user.In versions of this variation, the personal client device may beselected from the group consisting of a PC, a mobile phone, and a mobilepersonal computer.

In a variation of this system, the data for conducting transactions maybe reproduced on a public client device of the user. In versions of thisvariation, the public client device may be designated for temporarypersonal use.

In a variation of this system, the data reproduced on the client devicemay be directly displayed on the client device. In a variation of thismethod, the data reproduced on the client device may be indicated by anon-screen icon. In versions of this variation, the on-screen icon may beassociated with branding data.

In another aspect of the invention, providing a universal electronictransaction facility and providing a secure transaction facility inassociation with the universal electronic transaction facility, whereinthe secure transaction facility permits a user to conduct a securetransaction.

In a variation of this method, the secure transaction facility maypermit the user to conduct the secure transaction using a client devicewith a real-world security capability selected from the group consistingof infrared, RF, bar code and proximity sensor. In versions of thisvariation, the real-world security capability may be adapted for aproximity transaction. In versions of this variation, client device maybe a personal device. In versions of this variation, the client devicemay be a public device for temporary personal use.

In a variation of this method, the secure transaction facility maypermit the user to conduct the secure transaction using a client devicewith a virtual-world security capability. In versions of this variation,the virtual-world security capability may be adapted for an over-the-airtransaction. In versions of this variation, the client device may be apersonal device. In versions of this variation, the client device may bea public device for temporary personal use.

In a variation of this method, the method further comprises providingbiometric parameters for access to the secure transaction facility. In avariation of this method, the method further comprises providing asecure, personalized web-based portal that is associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In versions of thisvariation, the secure, personalized web-based portal may provide accessto an additional transactional service.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility and a secure transaction facility inassociation with the universal electronic transaction facility, whereinthe secure transaction facility permits a user to conduct a securetransaction.

In a variation of this system, the secure transaction facility maypermit the user to conduct the secure transaction using a client devicewith a real-world security capability selected from the group consistingof infrared, RF, bar code and proximity sensor. In versions of thisvariation, the real-world security capability may be adapted for aproximity transaction. In versions of this variation, client device maybe a personal device. In versions of this variation, the client devicemay be a public device for temporary personal use.

In a variation of this system, the secure transaction facility maypermit the user to conduct the secure transaction using a client devicewith a virtual-world security capability. In versions of this variation,the virtual-world security capability may be adapted for an over-the-airtransaction. In versions of this variation, the client device may be apersonal device. In versions of this variation, the client device may bea public device for temporary personal use.

In a variation of this system, the method further comprises providingbiometric parameters for access to the secure transaction facility. In avariation of this method, the method further comprises providing asecure, personalized web-based portal that is associated with theuniversal electronic transaction facility. In versions of thisvariation, the secure, personalized web-based portal may provide accessto an additional transactional service.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility, wherein the user interfaceallows a user electronically to obtain a response to an executedtransaction. In a variation of this method, the response to the executedtransaction comprises a receipt for the executed transaction. In avariation of this method, the response to the executed transaction maycomprise an acknowledgement for the executed transaction. In a variationof this method, the response to the executed transaction may comprise aconfirmation for the executed transaction. In a variation of thismethod, the response may be issued directly to a client device of theuser. In versions of this variation, the client device may be a personalclient device. In versions of this variation, client device is a publicdevice configured for temporary use. In versions of this variation, anelectronic replica of the response may be stored on the client device.The electronic replica may be archived in an addressable archive.

In a variation of this method, a secure, personalized web-based portalmay be associated with the universal electronic transaction facility toreceive the response. In versions of this variation, an electronicreplica of the response may be stored in association with the web-basedportal. The electronic replica may be archived in an addressablearchive.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility, wherein the user interface allows auser electronically to obtain a response to an executed transaction. Ina variation of this system, the response to the executed transactioncomprises a receipt for the executed transaction. In a variation of thissystem, the response to the executed transaction may comprise anacknowledgement for the executed transaction. In a variation of thissystem, the response to the executed transaction may comprise aconfirmation for the executed transaction. In a variation of thissystem, the response may be issued directly to a client device of theuser. In versions of this variation, the client device may be a personalclient device. In versions of this variation, client device is a publicdevice configured for temporary use. In versions of this variation, anelectronic replica of the response may be stored on the client device.The electronic replica may be archived in an addressable archive.

In a variation of this system, a secure, personalized web-based portalmay be associated with the universal electronic transaction facility toreceive the response. In versions of this variation, an electronicreplica of the response may be stored in association with the web-basedportal. The electronic replica may be archived in an addressablearchive.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility, wherein the universalelectronic transaction facility is capable of interacting securely withmultiple domains. In a variation of this method, the universalelectronic transaction facility may interact with multiple domainswirelessly. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may interact with multiple domains via wiredconnections. In a variation of this method, the universal electronictransaction facility may provide a personalized token to a user via aclient device. In versions of this variation, the client device may be apersonal client. device. In versions of this variation, the clientdevice may be a public device for temporary personal use.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may initiate a transaction from a client device. In a variationof this method, the universal electronic transaction facility maycomplete a transaction from the client device.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may transmit to the client device a response for an executedtransaction. In versions of this variation, the response may comprise anacknowledgement of the executed transaction. In versions of thisvariation, the response may comprise a receipt for an executedtransaction.

In another aspect of the invention, a system may include a universalelectronic transaction facility, wherein the universal electronictransaction facility is capable of interacting securely with multipledomains. In a variation of this system, the universal electronictransaction facility may interact with multiple domains wirelessly. In avariation of this system, the universal electronic transaction facilitymay interact with multiple domains via wired connections. In a variationof this system, the universal electronic transaction facility mayprovide a personalized token to a user via a client device. In versionsof this variation, the client device may be a personal client. device.In versions of this variation, the client device may be a public devicefor temporary personal use.

In a variation of this system, the universal electronic transactionfacility may initiate a transaction from a client device. In a variationof this method, the universal electronic transaction facility maycomplete a transaction from the client device.

In a variation of this system, the universal electronic transactionfacility may transmit to the client device a response for an executedtransaction. In versions of this variation, the response may comprise anacknowledgement of the executed transaction. In versions of thisvariation, the response may comprise a receipt for an executedtransaction.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include receiving datafrom a universal electronic transaction facility and carrying out atransaction in response to the data received from a universal electronictransaction facility. In a variation of this method, the method mayfurther comprise providing a separate security protocol based on atleast a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. In a version of this variation, the method mayfurther comprise applying the security protocol to the transaction tosecure the transaction. The security protocol may employthree-dimensional authentication to secure the transaction. The threedimensional authentication may involve verifying the identity of theuser, the universal transaction facility and the domain. In a version ofthis variation, the separate security protocol may employ cryptographictools. In a version of this variation, the separate security protocolmay employ strength of encryption. In a version of this variation, themethod further comprises customizing the nature of Public/Private KeyInfrastructure on a per user, per device and per domain basis.

In a variation of this method, the transaction may be a proximitytransaction. In a variation of this method, the transaction may be anover-the-air transaction. In a variation of this method, the transactionmay comprise issuance of a token. In a variation of this method, thetransaction may comprise issuance of a receipt.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility having a user interface,wherein the user interface allows a user to execute a transaction. In avariation of this method, the method further comprises providing asecure transaction capability to a user via the universal electronictransaction facility. In versions of this variation, the securetransaction capability may protect electronic data stored on theuniversal electronic transaction facility. The electronic data maycomprise a token. The electronic data may comprise a receipt. Theelectronic data may comprise a transaction acknowledgement. In versionsof this variation, the secure transaction capability may comprise anencryption protocol. The encryption protocol may encrypt electronic datastored on the universal electronic transaction facility.

In a variation of this method, the universal electronic transactionfacility may be a client device. In a variation of this method, the userinterface may allow the user to obtain an electronic token for executingthe transaction. In a variation of this method, the user interface mayallow the user to obtain a response after executing the transaction.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility having a user interface,wherein the user interface is configurable by a user.

In a variation of this method, the universal transaction facility may bea client device. In versions of this variation, the client device may bea personal device. In versions of this variation, the client device maybe a public device for temporary personal use. In versions of thisvariation, at least one personalized application may reside on theclient device. In versions of this variation, at least onenon-personalized application may reside on the client device.

In a variation of this method, the user may configure the user interfacein accordance with a set of user preferences. In a variation of thismethod, the user may configure the user interface through interactionwith an expert system. In versions of this variation, the expert systemmay be capable of self-modification. The self-modification may comprisea learning behavior. The self-modification may be based on an inputselected from the group consisting of user behavior, usage patterns,transaction history and a qualified external input. Theself-modification may be based on a plurality of inputs. Theself-modification may further comprise suggesting parameters for asubsequent transaction.

In another aspect of the invention, a method may include providing auniversal electronic transaction facility having a user interfaceconfigurable by a user, wherein the user interface allows the usersecurely and electronically to reproduce data on a client device. In avariation of this method, the user may configure the user interface inaccordance with a set of user preferences. In a variation of thismethod, the user may configure the user interface through interactionwith an expert system. In versions of this variation, the expert systemmay be capable of self-modification based on an input selected from thegroup consisting of user behavior, user usage pattern, user transactionhistory and qualified external inputs.

In a variation of this method, the client device may be a personaldevice. In a variation of this method, the client device may be a publicdevice for temporary personal use. In a variation of this method, thedata may comprise a token for conducting a transaction. In a variationof this method, the data may comprise a service for conducting atransaction. In a variation of this method, the data may comprise anapplication. In versions of this variation, the application may bepersonalized. In versions of this variation, the application may benon-personalized.

In a variation of this method, the data may be selected from the groupconsisting of multiple tokens, multiple services, multiple personalizedapplications, and multiple non-personalized applications. In versions ofthis variation, the data may be managed in accordance with userpreferences. In versions of this variation, the data may be managed inaccordance with an expert system. The expert system may be capable ofself-modification based on an input selected from the group consistingof user behavior, user usage pattern, user transaction history andqualified external inputs. In versions of this variation, the data maycomprise a plurality of data sets, the data sets being selected from thegroup consisting of multiple tokens, multiple services, multiplepersonalized applications, and multiple non-personalized applications.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a bill payment service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. The service may include taking apayment out of an offline bank, in time for a bill to be paid on time.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a person-to-person transaction service in association with auniversal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a money order/transfer service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. In the methods and systems anelectronic token may include an electronic replica of a money order or atransfer. The transaction may be associated with a money order or atransfer. In the methods and systems the service may securely credit auser's account and debit a financial service provider's account. Theservice provider may be a bank, a credit union, or a financialinstitution. In the methods and systems, the service may issue a requestto a financial service provider to complete a money order/transfertransaction though a settlement/acquisition network. The service may beassociated with a transaction history. The value added service may alsobe associated with the transaction history.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include aprepaid airtime service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of a prepaid airtime card. The transactionmay be associated with a prepaid airtime card. The service may includesecurely replenishing a prepaid airtime account. The act of replenishingis accomplished by at least one of the following: selectingpre-configured time/amount packages, specifying a desired amount/timepackages, selecting a preferred mode of payment. The service maysecurely credit a user's account, debits a telecommunication serviceprovider's account, and replenishes the user's airtime account.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include aticketing service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a ticket. The transaction may be associated with aticket.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include aloyalty coupon/promotion service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. In the methods and systems anelectronic token may include an electronic replica of an account, aloyalty statement, or a transaction summary. The transaction may beassociated with an account, a loyalty statement, or a transactionsummary.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include anelectronic checkbook service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of a checkbook, a check, a summarystatement, an activity statement, a cancelled check. The transaction maybe associated with a checkbook, a check, a summary statement, anactivity statement, a cancelled check. In the methods and systems, anattribute of the universal electronic transaction facility may include anumber of checks remaining, a pre-designated check number, or a balancein the checkbook's ledger.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include adriver's license service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems, the service may beassociated with at least one of a device at a point of transaction, anda law enforcement agent's client device.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includehealth service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a health record, a health insurance card, aprescription, laboratory instructions, a medical referral, approval ofmedical necessity, an x-ray, a sonogram, a CAT scan, an examinationreport, a diagnosis, a prognosis, a treatment plan, an MRI result, alaboratory result, a list of over-the-counter items, an approval toreturn to work, a physical activity permission, or an insurance coverageapproval. The transaction may be associated with a health record, ahealth insurance card, a prescription, laboratory instructions, amedical referral, approval of medical necessity, an x-ray, a sonogram, aCAT scan, an examination report, a diagnosis, a prognosis, a treatmentplan, an MRI result, a laboratory result, a list of over-the-counteritems, an approval to return to work, a physical activity permission, oran insurance coverage approval. In the methods and systems, an attributeof the universal electronic transaction facility may includeavailability of a completed prescription for pickup, receipt of aprescription at a pharmacy, shipment of a completed prescription,availability of laboratory results, laboratory results meeting acriteria, a follow-up visit request from a doctor, a time, a date, atime for administration of a prescription, a number of doses of aprescription remaining, a number of refills of a prescription remaining,a number of appointments remaining, or an appointment. The service maybe associated with a patient, a doctor, a hospital, a pharmacy, adurable medical goods provider, a physical therapy provider, alaboratory, an insurer, or a researcher.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include atravel service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a ticket, a reservation, a travel voucher, apassport, a travel visa, a travel itinerary, a boarding pass, a map, animmigration document, a menu, a summary statement, a hotel bill, a carrental bill, an air travel bill, a loyalty club accrual, a list ofbusiness expenses, or a list of personal expenses. The transaction maybe associated with a ticket, a reservation, a travel voucher, apassport, a travel visa, a travel itinerary, a boarding pass, a map, animmigration document, a menu, a summary statement, a hotel bill, a carrental bill, an air travel bill, a loyalty club accrual, a list ofbusiness expenses, or a list of personal expenses. In the methods andsystems, an attribute of the universal electronic transaction facilitymay include weather at a travel destination, weather at an airport,traffic conditions, a flight schedule, a flight check in, a seatingassignment, a gate assignment, a travel itinerary, a meeting time, atime, a date, a contact local to a travel destination, currencyconversion rates, availability of a flight, a time until departure, atrain schedule, or a change in flight times.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include aninfotainment service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of video, images, audio, text, orinformation required to complete a transaction. The transaction may beassociated with video, images, audio, text, or information required tocomplete a transaction. The electronic replica may be adapted for mobileviewing.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include apersonal information management service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. In the methods and systems anelectronic token may include an electronic replica of a calendar, anappointment, contact information, a mail message, a to-do list, a note,an expense, or information required to complete a transaction. Thetransaction may be associated with a calendar, an appointment, contactinformation, a mail message, a to-do list, a note, an expense, orinformation required to complete a transaction.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include atraining service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a video, an image, audio, text, a part number, apart cost, a diagnostic instruction, a repair instruction, an assemblyinstruction, a disassembly instruction, information required to completea transaction, a purchase order, or an inventory check. The transactionmay be associated with a video, an image, audio, text, a part number, apart cost, a diagnostic instruction, a repair instruction, an assemblyinstruction, a disassembly instruction, information required to completea transaction, a purchase order, or an inventory check.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include alottery service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a lottery ticket. The transaction may beassociated with a lottery ticket.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include avoting service in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a ballot, an election candidate's information, aballot number, or a voter identification information. The transactionmay be associated with a ballot, an election candidate's information, aballot number, or a voter identification information. In the methods andsystems, an attribute of the universal electronic transaction facilitymay include a voting date, a voting time, candidate information, voterinformation, election information, votes cast by phone, votes castelectronically, or votes cast traditionally.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include agaming portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a game. The transaction may be associated with agame. In the methods and systems, the gaming portal may be associatedwith a game that is played, at least in part, on the universalelectronic transaction facility. The gaming portal may distribute thegame. In the methods and systems, a secure transaction associated withthe portal may be associated with betting on the outcome of a game,purchasing a game, purchasing a game from a publisher of the game,purchasing a game from a user of a second universal electronictransaction facility, or selling a game to a user of a second universalelectronic transaction facility. In the methods and systems, an originalpublisher of the game may receive a payment that is associated with thetransaction.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include amerchant portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of an invoice, an inventory statement, a financialstatement, a request for quote, a bid, a promotion, or a purchase. Thetransaction may be associated with an invoice, an inventory statement, afinancial statement, a request for quote, a bid, a promotion, or apurchase. The merchant portal may distribute a promotion to a consumerusing the universal electronic transaction facility. The promotion maybe based on past transaction behavior.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include agovernment portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a governmental record. The transaction may beassociated with a governmental record. The government portal may enablea user to access government services using the universal electronicfacility. The government service may be a land record, a sales tax, aprocurement contract. In the methods and systems, the universalelectronic transaction facility may be used to securely log in to akiosk to access the government services.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include anenterprise portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. The enterprise portal may enable a user to access enterpriseservices using the universal electronic transaction facility. The usermay securely log time to an enterprise timesheet, or securely trackenterprise expenses for reimbursement determination. The timesheet maybe used to track at least employee and contractor work times. Theenterprise services may be associated with third-party quotes and bids.Securely transmitting the quotes and bids may be associated with theportal. The enterprise portal may enable the secure transmission ofdisaster management information. The disaster management information maybe an available disaster-related service, a required action report, anaction prioritization, or an infrastructure requirement.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include ahealth/fitness portal in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of health/fitness information, dietinformation, weight training information, aerobic training information,or personal training information. The transaction may be associated withhealth/fitness information, diet information, weight traininginformation, aerobic training information, or personal traininginformation. The health and fitness portal may provide access to healthand fitness information used with the universal electronic transactionfacility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include areligious portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of religious information, or a charitable collection.The transaction may be associated with religious information, or acharitable collection. The religious information may be passage of theday, access to a religious text, a result of a search of a religioustext, or an event calendar.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include asports portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a sporting event ticket, a bet, a scorecard, alineup, a seating chart, a parking pass, a clubhouse pass, a seasonpass, a standing room only pass, or a line score. The transaction may beassociated with a sporting event ticket, a bet, a scorecard, a lineup, aseating chart, a parking pass, a clubhouse pass, a season pass, astanding room only pass, or a line score. In the methods and systems asecure transaction may be associated with sports institution back-endsystems, gambling organizations, casinos, financial services providers,payment systems, service providers.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include aninsurance portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of an insurance quotation, a claim, a policy, aninsurance appraisal, a voucher, a surcharge, a premium, or anapplication. The transaction may be associated with an insurancequotation, a claim, a policy, an insurance appraisal, a voucher, asurcharge, a premium, or an application. In the methods and systems asecure transaction may be associated with a premium payment, a claimpayment, coverage denial, coverage approval, waiver of coverage, patientinformation, subrogation, a policy change, or an insurance application.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include auniversity portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a transcript, an admission application, anacceptance of admission, a rejection of admission, an exam, a coursegrade, a course schedule, a lab assignment, a lab report, a labreservation, a book reservation, a library card, a studentidentification card, a meal card, residence hall key, a room key, aparking pass, a course registration, or a diploma. The transaction maybe associated with a transcript, an admission application, an acceptanceof admission, a rejection of admission, an exam, a course grade, acourse schedule, a lab assignment, a lab report, a lab reservation, abook reservation, a library card, a student identification card, a mealcard, residence hall key, a room key, a parking pass, a courseregistration, or a diploma. In the methods and systems a securetransaction may be associated with matriculation, graduation, a tuitionpayment, a financial aid application, a financial aid award, a financialaid payment, a course registration, a lab reservation, university storepurchase, a student event, a course evaluation, a professor evaluation,an assignment, a test, a housing request, a meal plan selection, adeclaration of major.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include apolitical party portal in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of a voter registration card, a politicalparty affiliation card. The transaction may be associated with a voterregistration card, a political party affiliation card. In the methodsand systems a secure transaction may be associated with voting,registering, lobbying, poling, ballot counting, donating, orfundraising.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include apharma-exchange portal in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of a prescription, a refill request, or adrug information insert. The transaction may be associated with aprescription, a refill request, or a drug information insert. In themethods and systems a secure transaction may be associated withprescribing, refilling, drug order, generic substitution.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include acommodity exchange portal in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. In the methods and systems an electronic token mayinclude an electronic replica of a commodity purchase order. Thetransaction may be associated with a commodity purchase order. In themethods and systems a secure transaction may be associated with placinga bid for a commodity purchase, paying for a commodity purchase,scheduling a shipment of commodities, registering with a commoditybidding system.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include anairline portal in association with a universal electronic transactionfacility. In the methods and systems an electronic token may include anelectronic replica of a seat assignment, a seating chart, a manifest, ora class upgrade. The transaction may be associated with a seatassignment, a seating chart, a manifest, or a class upgrade. In themethods and systems a secure transaction may be associated withregistering, booking, checking in, or deplaning.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may include atransportation industry portal in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. In the methods and systems anelectronic token may include an electronic replica of a registration, adaily schedule, an inspection certificate, or an insurance coveragecard. The transaction may be associated with a registration, a dailyschedule, an inspection certificate, or an insurance coverage card. Inthe methods and systems a secure transaction may be associated withregistering, paying excise tax, applying for a license, a road test,paying sales tax.

In any and all of the embodiments of services or portals, any and all ofthe following may be true: The service or portal may be associated witha secure transaction. The service or portal may be associated with atoken that may include branding, images, required information forcompleting a transaction that may be associated with the service orportal. The service or portal may include securely and electronicallyconducting at least one of communicating the token, communicating thetoken in real time, reproducing the token, or storing the token. Thetoken may be an electronic replica of at least one of a frequent flyercard, a stored value card, a loyalty card, an insurance card, a driver'slicense, a bill, a promotion, a coupon, a receipt, an acknowledgement, apaid stamp, or a credit card. The secure transaction may be conductedusing at least one of infrared communication, radiofrequencycommunication, a bar code, an over-the-air communication, or a biometricparameter. The service or portal may be associated with multipledomains. The transaction may be a proximity transaction, an over-the-airtransaction or both. The transaction may be secured using athree-dimensional security protocol that may be based upon at least adomain, the universal electronic transaction facility, and a user. Theservice or portal includes securely and electronically storing at leastone of a receipt, and an acknowledgement. The service or portal may beassociated with at least one of the following configurable things: auser interface, a personalized application, a non-personalizedapplication, and a web-based personalized portal, each of which may beconfigured based upon at least one of a user's preference, an expertsystem, and a usage monitoring facility. The configurable things mayprovide a profile-driven, value-added service or portal. The service orportal may include provisioning at least one of multiple tokens,multiple service or portals, multiple personalized applications, andmultiple non-personalized applications. The service or portal mayinclude securely issuing the token to a user. The universal electronictransaction facility may store the token. The transaction may beassociated with at least one of a frequent flyer card, a stored valuecard, a loyalty card, an insurance card, a driver's license, a bill, apromotion, a coupon, a receipt, an acknowledgement, a paid stamp, and acredit card. The transaction may be at least one of secure, in realtime, provided in association with an on-line settlement, provided inassociation with an off-line settlement, provided using a preferred modeof payment, provided at a preferred time, and provided at a preferredlocation. The universal electronic transaction facility may be adaptedto alert a user based upon at least one of an attribute of the token,and a determination by an expert system. The attribute may be at leastone of an issuance data, a number of days prior to a date, a date, anamount, and a time. The service or portal may be associated withpresenting an electronic replica of the portal or service or portal to auser via the portal or service or portal inbox user interface.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a financial service in association with a universal electronictransaction facility. The financial service may include securelyissuing, to the universal electronic transaction facility, at least oneelectronic replica of at least one of the following items: a bill from abill issuer, a loyalty card, an account, a coupon, a promotion, a checkbook, a check, a license, a driver's license. In the methods andsystems, the financial service may include alerting a user based on anattribute of the at least one item. The attribute may be associated withat least one of a date of expiry, a change of address, a number of acheck, a number of checks remaining, a number of days before a couponcan be redeemed, a redemption date a due date, a time, a time ofissuance, a financial balance. The financial service may further includesecurely issuing, to the universal electronic transaction facility, anelectronic replica of at least one of the following confirmations: areceipt that is associated with a bill; a transaction summary statement;a marketing vehicle; a license; a cancelled check.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a coupon issuance financial service in association with auniversal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a ticketing financial service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility. The ticketing service may includesecurely issuing, to the universal electronic transaction facility, atleast one electronic replica of at least one of a ticket, and a ticketassociated with a violation. The financial service further comprisessecurely issuing, to the universal electronic transaction facility, anelectronic replica of a ticket associated with a violation. Theelectronic replica may contain a summary that is associated with theticketing service. The summary may be associated with a frequent flyersummary. The electronic replica may include a cancelled check. Theticket service may be the issuance of a ticket that is associated with aviolation, and the electronic replica may be of a driver's license.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a top-up transaction financial service in association with auniversal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a funds transfer financial service in association with auniversal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a money order payment in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding a person-to-person payment financial service in associationwith a universal electronic transaction facility.

In another aspect of the invention, methods and systems may includeproviding bill payment financial service in association with a universalelectronic transaction facility.

In any and all of the embodiments of financial services, any and all ofthe following may be true: The universal electronic transaction facilitymay be capable of providing a separate security protocol based on atleast a domain, a device and a user of the universal electronictransaction facility. The financial service may be selected from thegroup consisting of bill payment, person-to-person payment, money orderpayment, funds transfer, a top-up transaction, a ticketing transaction,issuance of a coupon, and resolution of a check. The financial servicemay include securely issuing, to the universal electronic transactionfacility, at least one electronic replica of at least one of thefollowing items: a bill from a bill issuer, a payment token, moneyorder, money transfer token, a prepaid airtime token, a ticket, a ticketassociated with a violation, a loyalty card, an account, a coupon, apromotion, a check book, a check, a license, a driver's license. Thefinancial service may further include communicating at least one ofbranding, an image, information required to complete a transaction. Theuniversal electronic transaction facility may be a client device. Thefinancial service may further include alerting a user based on at leastone attribute of the at least one item. The attribute may be associatedwith at least one of a date of expiry, a change of address, a number ofa check, a number of checks remaining, a number of days before a couponcan be redeemed, a redemption date, a date of travel, a due date, atime, a time of issuance, a financial balance. The financial service mayinclude enabling a user to securely pay the bill using universalelectronic transaction facility. Paying the bill may occur in real time.Paying the bill may be associated with an on-line settlement of thebill, an off-line settlement of the bill, at least one of a preferredmode of payment, a preferred time, and a preferred location. Thefinancial service may further include securely issuing, to the universalelectronic transaction facility, an electronic replica of at least oneof the following confirmations: a receipt that is associated with abill; a transaction summary statement; a marketing vehicle; a ticketassociated with a violation; a license. The license may include at leastone of a driver's license, a gun license, a liquor license, a fishinglicense, a hunting license. The marketing vehicle may be at least one ofa loyalty card, an account, a coupon, a promotion. The transactionsummary statement may be associated with a transaction between a user ofthe universal transaction facility and another user. The electronicreplica may include a payment stamp. The financial service may furtherinclude enabling a user to pay another user. The another user may have auniversal electronic transaction facility. Paying another user may occursecurely and in real time. Paying another user may be associated withon-line settlement or off-line settlement. The financial service mayfurther include enabling a transfer of units that is securely initiatedat the universal electronic transaction facility. The financial servicemay include debiting units from a first account and crediting at unitsto a second account, wherein at least one of the debiting or creditingis contingent on validating a user and a request. The financial servicemay include issuing a request to a service provider, wherein the requestis associated with completing the crediting and debiting under thecontrol of the service provider. Issuing the transfer may be initiatedvia wireless communications or via proximity-based communications.Transferred units may be financial units or airtime units. Theelectronic replica may be delivered to a universal electronictransaction facility of a user that receives funds according to thefinancial service. The financial service may further include enabling ause of the funds by the user that receives the funds. The electronicreplica may contain a summary that is associated with the financialservice. The financial service maybe a ticket issuance service. Thesummary may be a frequent flyer summary. The electronic replica mayinclude a cancelled check. The transaction may include procuring aservice from a merchant. The financial service may include securelyredeeming the electronic replica. Securely redeeming the electronicreplica may be initiated by a wireless communication or a proximitybased communication. The financial service may include securelyreceiving the electronic replica. The transaction may be a procurementof a service from a financial service provider.

These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages ofthe present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and thedrawings. All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated intheir entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1 is a high-level system diagram of the major system components ofan electronic transaction platform exemplifying one potential embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a general, logical diagram of the major service components ofone potential exemplary embodiment of the electronic transactionplatform.

FIG. 3 is a logical diagram of the major components and hierarchy of asecure transaction platform provided by one potential exemplaryembodiment of the electronic transaction platform.

FIG. 4 depicts a user-centric embodiment of one potential exemplaryembodiment of the secure transaction platform.

FIG. 5 is a detailed system diagram of one potential exemplaryembodiment of an embodiment of the electronic transaction platform.

FIG. 6 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodology for aticket issuance process.

FIG. 7 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodology forone potential exemplary embodiment of a ticket redemption process.

FIG. 8 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 depicts the steps in one transactional method according onepotential exemplary embodiment of to the present invention.

FIG. 10 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to onepotential exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 depicts a data representative structure of one potentialexemplary embodiment of a request for funds transfer.

FIG. 19 depicts logical aspects of an embodiment an electronic facility.

FIG. 20 depicts functional associations between aspects of theelectronic transaction platform.

FIG. 21 illustrates various display areas in one embodiment of theelectronic facility during an initialization procedure of the presentinvention.

FIG. 22 illustrates various display areas in one embodiment of theelectronic facility during an initialization procedure of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 depicts one potential exemplary embodiment of a ticketingservice deployed using the electronic transaction platform.

FIG. 24 depicts one potential exemplary embodiment of a ticketingservice environment including a number of universal electronictransaction facilities.

FIG. 25 depicts an embodiment of an issuance of one potential exemplaryembodiment of a loyalty card to a user.

FIG. 26 depicts an embodiment of a portal user device for viewing a userinterface to the electronic loyalty card.

FIG. 27 depicts a flow chart representative of an embodiment of theprocess to download the infotainment.

FIG. 28 depicts an embodiment of a portable user device for viewing auser interface to the infotainment.

FIG. 29 illustrates various display areas in one potential embodiment ofthe electronic facility.

FIG. 30 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of a potentialexemplary transaction.

FIG. 31 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of a potentialexemplary transaction according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 32 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of a potentialexemplary transaction.

FIG. 33 illustrates a medical transaction process according to theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 34 outlines the initialization process for an electronic facility.

FIG. 35 depicts an embodiment of a user client portable computer device.

FIG. 36 illustrates a flow chart for the purchase of lottery ticketsaccording to the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 37 depicts an embodiment of a user client portable computer device.

FIG. 38 illustrates a voting process flow according to the principles ofthe present invention.

FIG. 39 depicts an embodiment of a user client portable computer device.

FIG. 40 illustrates a process for making a check transaction accordingto the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 41 illustrates a process for making a check transaction accordingto the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 42 illustrates an electronic money order transaction processaccording to the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 43 depicts a potential user interface representative of a portal.

FIG. 44 depicts another potential user interface representative of aportal.

FIG. 45 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 46 depicts the steps in one transactional method according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 47 depicts a platform according to the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a high-level schematic diagram depicting features of aticketing process using a platform.

FIG. 49 depicts a platform through which a merchant using a merchantsystem make enable various features and attributes according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 50 depicts a platform through which a provider can connect with anairline system or an affiliate to enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 51 depicts a platform through which a government entity using agovernment entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 52 depicts a platform through which an enterprise entity using anenterprise entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 53 depicts a platform through which a heath/fitness entity using ahealth/fitness entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 54 depicts a platform through which a religious entity using areligious entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 55 depicts a platform through which a sports entity using a sportsentity system can enable various features and attributes according tothe present invention.

FIG. 56 depicts a platform through which an insurance entity using aninsurance entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 57 depicts a platform through which a university using a universityentity system can enable various features and attributes according tothe present invention.

FIG. 58 depicts a platform through which a political entity using apolitical entity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 59 depicts a platform through which a pharmaceutical entity using apharmaceutical system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 60 depicts a platform through which a commodity exchange entityusing a commodity system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 61 depicts a platform through which an entertainment entity usingan entertainment system can enable various features and attributesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 62 depicts a conceptual representation of a particular embodimentof a multidimensional database structure.

FIG. 63 depicts a user-centric set of services deployed using systemsaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 64 is a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodology for aticket issuance process.

FIG. 65 depicts the steps in one transactional process according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 66 depicts the steps in one transactional process according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 67 depicts a system diagram for a P2P service.

FIG. 68 depicts a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodologyfor a P2P service process.

FIG. 69 depicts the steps in one P2P transactional process according tothe present invention.

FIG. 70 depicts a representative user interface flow for a P2P service.

FIG. 71 depicts a system diagram for a prepaid top-up service.

FIG. 72 depicts a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodologyfor a prepaid top-up process.

FIG. 73 depicts a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodologyfor a prepaid top-up process for registered users.

FIG. 74 depicts a generalized flow diagram illustrating the methodologyfor a prepaid top-up process for unregistered users.

FIG. 75 depicts a representative user interface flow for a prepaidtop-up service.

FIG. 76 depicts another representative user interface flow for a prepaidtop-up service.

FIG. 77 depicts the steps in one prepaid top-up transaction processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 78 depicts the steps in another prepaid top-up transaction processaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 79 depicts the steps in yet another prepaid top-up transactionprocess according to the present invention.

FIG. 80 depicts the steps in still another prepaid top-up transactionprocess according to the present invention.

FIG. 81 depicts the steps in still yet another prepaid top-uptransaction process according to the present invention.

FIG. 82 depicts an overview of the main service facility meeting N×N×Nsecurity goals.

FIG. 83 depicts a multi-layered data security model.

FIG. 84 depicts the use of multiple data streams for grouping data andencrypting with different keys.

FIG. 85 depicts an abstract definition of the communication protocol.

FIG. 86 depicts the logical-schema of the PKI Security model basedcommunication protocol.

FIG. 87 depicts shows a sample transaction flow.

FIG. 88 depicts the end-to-end security setup between the electronictransaction facility and a transaction server.

FIG. 89 depicts the Secure Proxy of the main service facility.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a high-level electronic transaction platform 100, withcomponents for methods and systems for enabling electronic transactions,including transactions that support or include a wide range of specificservices, including secure, web-based services. At the center of theplatform 100 are one or more main service facilities 142, which arealternatively referred to throughout this disclosure as web servicesfacilities, wallet service centers, wallet service facilities, and thelike. The main service facilities 142 include conventional componentsfor enabling web services, such as one or more servers (which may behardware, software, or a combination of the same, one or more networkfacilities 138 (which may be local networks, wide area networks, theInternet, wired or wireless networks or any components thereof, asdescribed in more detail below), one or more data storage facilities (asdescribed below), one or more processors, and other components suitablefor enabling web services. The methods and systems disclosed herein mayalso include one or more electronic facilities 101 (as describedthroughout this disclosure and including universal electronictransaction cards, electronic wallets, and other electronic transactionfacilities), which may reside on one or more client devices 162 a, 162b, 162 c, 162 d or merchant devices 178 (such as point of transactiondevices 174 or other devices that are part of a merchant's computersystem). The electronic facilities 101 may be configured to becompatible with a wide range of client devices 162 and merchant systems170, and the various functions ascribed to the methods and systemsdisclosed herein may, in embodiments, alternately reside on clientdevices 162, on merchant systems 178 and/or on servers or other systems,such as main service facilities 142. Client devices 162 may include (forexample, in addition to other examples provided below and in documentsreferenced herein), cellular phones, PDAs, handheld devices and othermobile computing devices, laptops, desktops and other client computers,servers, appliances and other machines that are equipped with processors(such as kitchen appliances, televisions, set-top boxes and othersimilar devices), and any other devices capable of running softwareapplications. Client devices 162 may include, for example, publicdevices that are taken for temporary private use, such as billboards,signs, kiosks, POS terminals, ATMs, processor-equipped shelves,processor-equipped retail displays, processor-equipped transportationsystems (such as buses, cars, taxis, boats, airplanes, trains, subwaysand the like), airport equipment, telephones, equipment for bus or trainterminals and platforms, and any other processor-equipped devices foundin any public environment). Merchant systems 170 may similarly include awide range of merchant devices 170, such as point of transaction devices174, such as cash registers, ATM machines, credit card acceptancefacilities, bar code readers, scanners, ticket scanners, laptop anddesktop computers, handheld devices, servers, and any other devices thatare capable of supporting software applications. In embodiments, themethods and systems disclosed herein are enabled by web serviceapplications, which can be accessed by a range of client devices 162 andmerchant systems 170. Methods and systems disclosed herein may alsosupport interactions with service providers 168, such as financialservice providers (banks, credit card institutions, and the like),ticket issuers (including ticket merchants, government entities, andothers), content providers (such as providing computer games, digitalmedia, music, video and other content) and a wide range of other serviceproviders. In embodiments, the main service facilities 142 areconfigured to interface with computer systems of such service providers168, including legacy computing systems. In embodiments, such systemsinteract with the system as web services in a services orientedarchitecture.

The platform 100 depicted in FIG. 1 allows a wide range of service-basedtransactions, as described in more detail below, for a wide range oftransactional environments, also described in more detail below.

Referring to FIG. 2, the platform 100 can include the main servicesfacilities 142, the merchant systems 170 and the client devices 162,each of which may have components of an electronic transaction facility101, which may be a software application (or combination of software andhardware), running on any of them. In various embodiments, differentcomponents of the platform 100 may be enabled on different devices,using web services or other applications. For example, a billingapplication may reside on a main service facility 142, on a merchantsystem 170, or on a client device 162, or it may reside on a serviceprovider system that interacts with the platform 100. Theinterchangeability of the system components from the hardware standpointallows deployment of the platform 100 in a wide range of configurations,suitable for particular transactional environments, as described herein.For example, referring to FIG. 2, the platform 100 includes software andsignals that can be depicted as a set of layers that make up a securetransaction platform 200, including a personalization layer 202, aservice layer 204 and an enabling layer 208. Each of those layers may beembodied on different computer systems, depending on the needs of aparticular transaction environment. The presence of these layers thusallows the convenient configuration of the platform 100 to theenvironment.

Platform 100 may be written to work with the Windows® operating system,Macintosh® operating system, Linux, Windows CE, Unix, or a Java® basedoperating system, to name a few. Methods or processes in accordance withthe various embodiments of the invention may be implemented by computerreadable instructions stored in any media that is readable andexecutable by a processor. A machine-readable medium having storedthereon instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, maycause those processors to perform the methods of the invention. Amachine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). A machine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM);random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storagemedia; flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or otherform of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals,digital signals, etc.).

FIG. 3 depicts additional detail for an embodiment of a secureelectronic transaction platform 200 that corresponds to the platform 100of FIG. 1, showing additional details of the personalization layer 202,service layer 204 and enabling layer 208, in this case reflectingcomponents that could be enabled by the main service facility 142,electronic facility 101 and merchant systems 170 in variousconfigurations that are suitable for a variety of transactions. Forexample, the secure electronic transaction platform 200 includes aservice layer 204 that includes bill payments services, money transferservices, prepaid airtime top-up services, mobile banking services,peer-to-peer transaction services, proximity transactions services,prepaid shopping card services, coupon services, and ticketing services.The nature of these specific services, which can be enabled by thesecure electronic transaction platform 200, are described in more detailbelow, but respective components of them can reside on the varioussystems described in connection with FIG. 1. The secure electronictransaction platform 200 also includes an enabling layer, 208 whichenables the provision of the various services in the service layer 204.Thus, residing on a main services facility 142 or on a client device162, merchant system 170 or the system of a service provider 168, theenabling layer 208 enables various components necessary to supportservices, such as user management, device management, domain management,issuance, service provisioning, communications, interface features andsecurity features. In embodiments, as described more particularly below,the enabling layer has advantageous core features and attributes, suchas providing multi-dimensional levels of security, at the user level,device level and domain level. The secure electronic transactionplatform 200 may also include a personalization layer 202, which allowsthe configuration of the secure electronic transaction platform 200 fora particular user, whether it be a customer, a merchant, or a serviceprovider. For example, the personalization layer 202 may includepersonalization of user interface features (such as allowing a user todepict particular configurations of virtual or physical entities on aclient device), personalization based on user histories (such as basedon use of the device, absence of use, or the like), regionalization ofcontent, such as to provide a different language, personalized securityfeatures, such as password enablement and encryption more generally, andcontent personalization, such as presenting or delivering content basedon a user's expressed preferences or preferences determined by userhistory, such as past transactions.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of the platform 100, which is auser-centric secure transaction platform 200, in this case including thepersonalization layer 202, the service layer 204 and the enabling layer208. In this case the services illustrated in connection with FIG. 3 areall classified as “payment services” 402, thus here the services layershave been expanded to indicate some of the host of other servicesdomains that can be enabled by the secure transaction platform 200, suchas health services, infotainment services, personal informationmanagement services and travel services, among many others. Again, theseservices may be provided with the features and attributes described inmore detail elsewhere herein and in the documents incorporated byreference herein. The secure transaction platform 200 also includes theenabling layer 208, which in addition to the capabilities described inconnection with FIG. 3 includes other enabling components, including auser-centric engine 404, a multidimensional database 408 (the structureof which is described hereinafter in association with FIG. 62),application throughput facilities 410, and security facilities 412.

The user-centric secure transaction platform may also include additionalfeatures at the personalization layer 202, such as capabilities forsupporting a personalized user interface, a user-centric engine, andpersonalized security.

The platform 100 described in connection with FIGS. 1 through 4 enablesa number of important features. First, the platform 100 provides securetransaction capability, optionally using a client device 162 andsupported by a secure distributed web-based platform, such as mainservice facility 142. In embodiments, the transaction capability may beprovided with a wallet-based metaphor, so that a client device 162, suchas a cellular phone, essentially duplicates in software key features ofa physical wallet. Key features of a physical wallet may include, butare not limited to including many items in a compact size that allows anend user to carry these items while traveling through daily activitiesas well as in the home, office or other setting.

In other embodiments, the transaction capability is provided apart froma wallet metaphor; for example, the platform 100 may be provided inconnection with client devices 162 of any type or size, as describedelsewhere herein. The platform 100 may be used, as described herein, forpayment and non-payment applications. In embodiments, the platform 100also provides the ability to issue, securely and electronically, anentire transaction token (which may be personalized or non-personalized)with all necessary images, branding, and/or data for selecting andconducting transactions, directly with a user, through a wired and/orwireless medium, to a personal client device 162. In embodiments theclient device 162 may be a public device that is taken over fortemporary personal use, such as a kiosk, public access computer, ATM,billboard, sign, appliance, or other public device equipped withcomputing capabilities. A transaction token may be any facility forenabling or embodying a transaction, including, but not limited to,credit cards, bank account cards, frequent flyer cards, stored value orother debit cards, loyalty cards, insurance cards, drivers licenses andother licenses, membership cards, professional credentials, bills,invoices and similar instruments, coupons, tickets, and promotionalflyers. Platform 100 may also provide the ability to reproduce, securelyand electronically, multiple existing card, account, and vendorinformation, or similar information, with branding and/or images, withnecessary data for conducting transactions, on client device of choice(including a personal device or a public device taken for temporarypersonal use). A platform 100 may also provide the ability to conductsecure transactions in the physical world using proximity communicationsystems, such as infrared, RF, scanners, bar code readers,ultra-wide-band network facilities, Bluetooth facilities, 802.11xfacilities, WIFI facilities and the like between any client device 162and any merchant system 170. In embodiments such transactions mayinclude use of bio-metric parameters.

Platform 100 may further include the ability to securely accesspersonalized web-based user interface facilities for accessing variousvalue added services. A platform 100 may also include the ability for auser-, merchant- or client-centric facility, such as a wallet to“top-up” the amount of another payment token, by transferring funds, onthe same client device 162. The funds may be located in the electronicwallet, or may be stored in another facility of the client device 162.The platform 100 may also include the ability to issue to, and reproduceon, a client device 162 (which may be a personal device or public devicefor temporary personal use), securely and electronically, a receipt oracknowledgement related to transactions conducted in the real worldand/or virtual world. Platform 100 may also provide the ability to storeand archive electronic replica of receipts on a client device 162 and/oron a personalized web-based portal. In embodiments such receipts may bestored with a merchant acknowledgment of a transaction, such as a “PAID”stamp.

In embodiments platform 100 may enable the ability to securely andelectronically interact with multiple domains, through any wired and/orwireless medium, to procure personalized tokens, initiate and completetransactions, receive receipt or acknowledgement of transaction,directly from client device of choice (personal device or public devicefor temporary personal use).

Platform 100 as described herein also enables the ability to secureproximity and over-the-air transactions, including issuance of tokensand receipts, using multidimensional authentication, verifying theidentity of, for example, the user of a client device 162, merchantsystem 170 or other device, verifying the identity of the device itself,and verifying the identity of the domain for one or more transactions,in each case using appropriate cryptography tools and an appropriatestrength of encryption, optionally with the ability to customize thenature of the Public/Private Key Infrastructure on a per user, perdevice and per domain basis. For example, a user might provide a privatekey that corresponds to a public key that a merchant obtains from apublic key registry in order to send an item, such as a receipt, to theuser that is encrypted with the public key. Platform 100 also providesthe ability to securely encrypt tokens and receipts, not only when theyare issued, but also when they are stored on the client device. Platform100 as described herein also includes the ability to configure theuser-Interface and various personalized and/or non-personalizedapplications on the client device 162 (which may be a personal device ora public device taken for temporary personal use) based on the user'spreferences and/or through the support of an expert system capable oflearning over a period of time based on the user's behavior, usagepatterns, transaction history and qualified external inputs.

Platform 100 may also enable the ability to provision multiple tokens,multiple services and multiple personalized and/or non-personalizedapplications, with a high level of throughput, efficiency, and faulttolerance, to the user's client device 162 (which may be a personaldevice or a public device taken for temporary personal use) based on theuser's preferences and/or through the support of an expert systemcapable of learning over a period of time based on the user's behavior,usage patterns, transaction history and qualified external inputs. Inembodiments, the platform 100 has a distributed infrastructure, so thatthe various attributes described herein can be embodied on a clientdevice 162, merchant system 170, main service facility 142 or otherdevice or system, such as a service provider system.

Referring to FIG. 5, methods and systems are provided herein forenabling a variety of transactions, including transactions that a userengages in through a electronic wallet. In FIG. 5, one embodiment isprovided of a computer-based system that may provide a service to a userof an electronic facility 101. As indicated in connection with FIG. 1above, many different embodiments are possible, depending on theparticular services to be provided, or the environment in which aservice is to provided. The electronic facility 101 may be, maycomprise, or may be a component of a client facility. This service maybe a virtual “electronic wallet.” The electronic wallet may replace atraditional wallet and its contents, such as cash, credit cards, medicalcards, membership cards, professional credentials, promotional cards andcoupons, and so forth. The user of the electronic wallet may experiencebenefits as compared with using a traditional wallet, such as increasedconvenience, the elimination of paper transactions, and added security.

Generally, but not always, the service provided by the electronicfacility 101 depicted in FIGS. 1 through 5 may relate to a transactionand, in particular, to a financial transaction. This service may bedelivered through a variety of software architectures and platforms, aswell as a variety of business models. For example, the service may besupplied by a service partner, may be delivered through a Web servicesoriented architecture, may be a premium service associated with afinancial charge to the user, or may be free to the user. The Webservices may be delivered via a distributed infrastructure and/or asecure Web services protocol, such as distributed servers that (1) maybe utilizing XML digital signatures and/or XML encryption and/or that(2) may be in functional communication via SOAP. The Web services may beassociated with a secure application throughput management facility,such as that provided by the AppMetrics® products of Xtremesoft, Inc.,Woburn, Mass. The service may relate to a number of different financialand/or information transactions. For example, the service may be aservice relating to or including bill payment, personal data management,security, promotion, banking, an application for a new account, arenewal of an existing account, an issuance of a credit card, amanagement of a sub-account (for example, management of a credit cardfor a child), an account removal, an account cancellation, shopping,purchasing agent services, a government service, customer profiling,inter-vendor cooperation or collaboration, a financial service, aprepaid service, ticketing, a manned ATM service, a proximitytransaction, or any other service that can be usefully associated withthe electronic facility 101. The transaction may be a securetransaction, wherein data that may be associated with the transactionmay be transmitted and/or stored in a secure fashion such as protectedwith cryptographic facilities. The secure transaction may be associatedwith a secure distributed Web-based platform; may or may not beassociated with a wallet metaphor; and may have payment or non-paymentapplications. The secure transaction may be conducted as a proximitytransaction in the real world using infrared, RF, bar codes, and soforth. The secure transaction may additionally or alternatively beconducted in the electronic world (e.g. wide area network and perhapsthe Internet). The secure transaction may or may not comprise abiometric parameter, the ability to securely access a personalized Webportal for a value-added service, a client-centric wallet to “top-up”the amount of a token perhaps by associating funds, which may be inelectronic facility 101 but which may or may not be in the wallet, withthe token, wherein the associating the funds with the token may comprisea funds transfer.

In embodiments the transactions may be conducted over-the-air, such asin the proximity transaction. In these embodiments, the transaction maybe secured using three-dimensional authentication, which may compriseverifying the identity of the user, the electronic facility 101, and thedomain for the transaction. This authentication may comprise the use ofa cryptographic facility, such as an implementation of 3DES, AES, and soforth, to secure and protect the transaction from eavesdropping,spoofing, replaying, and so forth. The cryptographic facility mayalternately or additionally comprise a public key infrastructure thatmay be customized on the basis of the user, the electronic facility 101,or the transactional domain basis.

Generally, in the following disclosure, sending, receiving, ortransmitting is referred to as being secure when it is protected by wellknown cryptographic facilities, such as SSL, SSH, DES, AES, XMLEncryption, HTTPS, and so forth.

In embodiments, the methods, systems and services supported by theelectronic facility 101 may include a wide range of services. Forexample, and without limitation, the methods and systems may enable abill payment service, which may include the issuance of a bill and theissuance of a receipt and/or acknowledgement and payment. The paymentmay be conducted in the real world or the virtual world. The receipt oracknowledgement may be reproduced or stored, securely andelectronically, on the electronic facility 101. The receipt oracknowledgement may comprise a “PAID” stamp. The receipt may be procuredfrom one of a plurality of domains, through any wired or wirelessmedium, and may be used during the initiation or completion of atransaction. Methods and systems may also, or alternatively, enable asecurity service, which may be associated with any function (includingmultiple functions) of the electronic facility system and may facilitatea privacy feature or enable electronic facility theft determent. Thesecurity service may also provide transaction integrity, data integrity,authentication, non-repudiation, revocation, renewability, and/or anyother function associated with security of the electronic facility 101.

A promotion service may be associated with a function of the electronicfacility 101 and provide a promotion service associated with a loyaltycard, a coupon, a promotion, an incentive program, or any otherpromotional method. The promotion service may involve directdistribution (from a vendor) or merchant distribution (from a retailer).Methods and systems may also, or instead, support a banking service,which may be associated with an account transfer, access to an ATMfacility, a microcredit transaction and/or settlement, or any othermethod providing banking functionality to the user. Methods and systemsdescribed herein may also, or instead, support an application servicefor enabling an application to qualify for another service or other typeof application for a new account service, wherein the applicationservice may comprise providing needed information to a service facilitysuch as a bank or credit card company. Methods and systems may also, orinstead, support a shopping service, which may comprise the userproviding personal information to assist in browsing merchandise andproduct selection. An action associated with browsing merchandise may bechecking for a bargain, checking for a discount, checking for a relatedproduct, receiving promotional information, and any other actionproviding the user with merchandise browsing capability via theelectronic facility 101.

The methods and systems disclosed herein may also, or instead, support agovernment service, which may be associated with one or more of apassport, a visa, a social security number, a taxpayer identificationnumber, a motor vehicle, and voting. Methods and systems disclosedherein may also, or instead, support a customer profiling service, whichmay be for the benefit of the user or vendor, and may be associated forexample with the profiling of a group of users. Methods and systemsdisclosed herein may also, or instead, support a financial service,which may be associated with, for example, a person-to-person moneytransfer, a money order, a purchase, sale, or other transaction of astock or other equity, a credit or debit card transaction, an accounttransfer, or a wire transfer. Methods and systems disclosed herein mayalso, or instead, support a prepaid service associated with, forexample, replenishing prepaid airtime or a prepaid shopping card. Methodand systems disclosed herein may also, or instead, support a ticketingservice, which may be associated with an airline, a movie, a play, asporting event, an auction, a charitable function, an educationalfunction, a ceremony, a speech, an entertainment event, or a hospitalityfacility. In the ticketing service, paperless tickets may be issueddirectly to and securely stored in association with the electronicfacility 101.

The electronic facility 101 may include components that collectivelysupport transactional methods, allowing an authorized user of thefacility to conduct various transactions with merchants, peers,suppliers, and any other transaction participant. In one embodiment, theelectronic facility 101 may include a user interface, which may be anykind of user interface, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a click wheel, atrack wheel, a pointer, a slider, a button, a voice activated interface,a stylus, a smart pen, a remote control, a touch screen, a networkinterface, a software interface, a web page, a browser, or otherinterface suitable for receiving user input and/or providing informationto the user. In one embodiment, the user interface may be an LCD andtouch screen display 100. The display provides visual feedback andinformation to the user. The display 100 may be full size (for example,the size of a tablet or desktop PC) or it may be a smaller size (forexample, the size of a PDA, cell phone, camera, or digital watchdisplay). In embodiments the display 100 may be small enough to beportable and/or large enough to display user-readable messages and touchcontrols.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the electronic facility 101 may also comprisea control facility for controlling the functions of the electronicfacility 101, which may be any type of control facility, such as aprocessor, a microprocessor, a computer, or the like. In embodiments thecontrol facility may comprise an associated display controller 102; amicrocontroller 104, which may be a microprocessor, along with RAM 106,ROM 107, and Input/Output port management 108; a non-volatile RAM 110; alight emitting diode 112 to indicate the status of the on/off switch114, or other status of the electronic facility 101; a speaker/beeper118, one or more contact facilities 120 to connect to an optionalexternal facility 131 and/or to charge a battery 124; an optionalcontact-less facility 122 to be used, for example, in wirelesscommunications and/or power applications; and a direct communicationfacility 111. The electronic facility 101 may be powered by a powerfacility 124, such as a battery, a power supply, a solar cell, a fuelcell, a recharger, an inductive charger, a cigarette-lighter adapter, orany other source of power.

The electronic facility 101 may be supported by a variety of technologyplatforms and may take many different forms. For example, the electronicfacility 101 may be about 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches, or about the size ofa credit card. Alternately, it may integrated into a mobile device, suchas a PDA, a smart card, a cell phone, a wearable computer, a watch, aBlackberry®, a Sidekick®, or any other device having a small, portableform. In other embodiments, the technology may be included in a cashregister, point of sale system, personal computer, portable digitalmusic player, digital camera, set-top box, digital video recorder,satellite receiver, automobile, utility meter (such as an electric meteror gas meter), or any other device involved in a sale of goods, thetransfer of funds, or other transactions described herein. Thetechnology used in the electronic facility 101 may include an interfaceto an automobile, GPS, cellular phone or any other facility that allowsthe electronic facility 101 to perform mobile, location-basedtransactions.

The display 103, as described above, may include an LCD and a touchscreen. Alternatively, the display 103 may be a light emitting diodedisplay, an organic light emitting diode array, a flexible organic lightemitting diode array, a projection display, or any other displaysuitable for use with the electronic facility 101. On the display 103 orin the image projected by the display 103 may appear bar codes orsignatures. These bar codes and signatures may, for example, provideinformation to the operator of a support computer 134 who may require acomputer-readable or human-readable visual reference to informationstored with the electronic facility 101, or information relating to atransaction using the electronic facility 101.

Alternatively, the display 103 portion of the electronic facility 101may be embodied in a remote device. For example, the electronic facility101 may further comprise a Web server to which a PC-based Web browsermay connect. Displayed on the browser may be the visual interface of theelectronic facility 101. Thus in certain embodiments, there is nophysical size restriction on the electronic facility 101, as it wouldonly provide the content to be displayed on the display 103, rather thanthe physical display itself. Here, technology comprising the electronicfacility 101 could be embedded in a ring, bracelet, pendant, shoe,eyeglass rim, barrette, or any other personal item that the user maywear.

The electronic facility 101 may comprise a user interface to receiveuser input. In this respect, the user interface may include an inputdevice such as a touch memory button, a touch memory reader, a mouse, anintegrated trackball, a microphone with speech recognition capabilities,an RFID scanner, a Bluetooth® interface to external user input devices,a network interface, a camera, a video or Web camera, or any other userinput device, including any of the input facilities described herein. Inan alternate embodiment, the user input may be supplied over a network,for example, via a remote Web browser that connects to a Web server,which may be integral to the electronic facility 101.

The electronic facility 101 may communicate with other facilities duringa transaction. Integral to the electronic facility 101 may be acommunication facility 109, which may comprise a contact facility 120, acontact-less facility 122, a direct communication facility 111, a localcommunication facility 152, a network communication facility 154, anapplication-oriented communication facility, or any other communicationfacility appropriate for use with the electronic facility 101.

Transactions may involve the user engaging the electronic facility 101in an interaction with the service facility. The service facility mayauthenticate one or more participants in a transaction and may be afinal authority as to the settlement of the transaction. The servicefacility may include a main service facility 142. The communicationfacility 109 may facilitate data transmission with the main servicefacility 142 via the network communication facility 154.

Power or communications to the electronic facility 101 may be providedvia direct physical contact with an external object. This is achievedvia the contact facility 120, which may comprise a power pin, a magneticstripe, a contact smart card facility, or any other facility suitablefor providing contact-based data communication or power to theelectronic facility 101. To the extent that the contact facility 120 maybe utilized to provide communications capability to the electronicfacility 101, it may be part of the communication facility 109.

The power or communications to the electronic facility 101 may also, orinstead, be via a wireless interaction with an external object, such asthrough the infrared or contact-less facility 122, which may comprise anIrDA facility, a proximity RF facility such as RFID, a contact-lesssmartcard facility, an electromagnetic induction facility, or any otherfacility capable of providing contact-less data communication or powerto the electronic facility 101. To the extent that the contact-lessfacility 122 may be utilized to provide communications capability to theelectronic facility 101, it may be part of the communication facility109.

Communications to the electronic facility 101 may also, or instead, beprovided via the network communication facility 154, which may includean interface facility to the PSTN (such as a modem), an interfacefacility to a data network (such as an Ethernet card or 802.11 wirelesscard or Bluetooth® facility), an interface facility to a cellularnetwork (utilizing protocols such as CDPD, GPRS, GSM, CSD, HSCSD, orSMS), or any other facility providing communications to a specialinterface 140, which may be a data communications interface to the mainservice facility 142. To ensure the security of data transmitted, thenetwork communication facility 154 may employ a secure connection (suchas a VPN over IPSec or SSH).

In any case, the communications to the electronic facility 101 mayenable a secure transaction.

In general, networked computing may include the use of a physicalmedium, a protocol stack, and one or more applications (such as a Webserver and Web browser). The physical medium may include, for example,category 5e cable used for wired Ethernet communications, coaxial cable,fiber optics, or any other physical medium, including, in the case ofwireless communications, air or a vacuum, as well as variouscombinations of these used to complete end-to-end communications betweennetwork participants. The protocol stack may include any number ofprocesses used to process communications between network participants,such as, for example, a TCP/IP protocol stack or an OSI protocol stack.The applications may include any programs, program modules, services, orother software executing on a processor or other hardware, includingcommon desktop applications such as work processing software,spreadsheets, presentation software, and web browsers, as well asproprietary software or services that may be transparent to a user. Itwill be appreciated that in some conceptual descriptions, the roles andstructures of these components vary, as for example where the OSIprotocol stack includes a physical layer to describe use of a physicalmedium and an application layer to describe an interface withapplications. Similarly, in certain conceptual frameworks, a deviceoperating system may be considered an application or a component of aprotocol stack. Thus, still more generally, a networked computing systemmay include any combination of physical media and processing resourcesto enable one directional or multi-directional communication betweenapplications, services, or other software components executing onprocessors or other hardware. All such networked computing systems areintended to fall within the scope of the following description, exceptwhere specific programs, protocols, or communication media arespecified.

To support the user of an electronic facility 101, anapplication-oriented communication facility 109 may be associated withthe electronic facility 101. This communication facility 109 maycomprise a facility allowing direct connection to the main servicefacility 142 through the external facility 131 (such as Telnet, FTP,SSH), or any other facility providing an application with aconnection-based or session-based capability to tunnel data through theexternal facility 131 to the main service facility 142. In one example,the application-oriented communication facility 109 may include afacility for connecting to a retailer's Web server using Web protocolssuch as HTTP and HTTPS.

The memory in the electronic facility 101 may comprise RAM 106, ROM 107,and/or nonvolatile RAM 110, or any other kind of data storage facility.The memory may be sufficient to store all data associated with theparticipation of the electronic facility in the execution of atransactional method herein described. The contents of this memory maybe uploaded in whole or in part, optionally via a software conduit, tothe support computer 134, the local computer 160, and/or the mainservice facility 142. To support methods associated with transactions,the memory in electronic facility 101 may contain a multidimensionaldatabase, may be implemented utilizing a package and methods thatprovide leak-resistant cryptography (such as a smart card), and may beembodied in any magnetic, optical, or electronic storage medium. Inembodiments the data storage facility may include a file, database(object oriented or relational), object, or other data storage facilityfor storing data, applications, programs, and other items associatedwith the electronic facility.

The memory in electronic facility 101 may store a value associated withtransactional methods herein described. This value may include: a uniqueidentifier to discriminate one electronic facility 101 from another;access-control information to prevent unauthorized use of electronicfacility 101; personal information identifying the owner of theelectronic facility 101; financial account information; medical andhealth information associated with the owner of the electronic facility101; stored cash value; logos and branding information; or any othervalue associated with transactional methods.

The access-control information may comprise an encoded signature, apersonal identification number, an encoded fingerprint, an encoded irisscan, or any other information (biometric or otherwise) associated withaccess control, identification, security, or authorization.

The personal information may comprise an individual's name, a business'sname, a home address, a home telephone number, a home fax number, a homee-mail address, an office address, an office phone number, an office faxnumber, an office e-mail address, a uniform resource locator (“URL”), auniform resource identifier (“URI”), a height, a weight, a birth date, asocial security number, a blood type, a marital status, or any otherinformation associated with a person, or used to uniquely identify,contact, or locate a person.

The financial account information may comprise a credit card number, adate of issue, a date of expiration, a credit limit, a savings accountnumber, a checking account number, an investment account number, ausername and/or password associated with a financial account, or anyother information associated with one or more financial accounts such asbrokerage accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cardaccounts, and so on.

The medical and health information may comprise an indication of anallergy, a medical history, a medical condition, a health insurancemember number associated with a health insurance plan, a physician name,a hospital name, a pharmacy name, current medications or prescriptions,or any other information associated with a medical or health condition.

The logos and branding information may comprise a credit card image orany other image associated with logos and branding that might be used inassociation with services provided using the electronic facility 101.

To allow the electronic facility 101 to be adaptable to differentenvironmental lighting conditions, the electronic facility 101 mayfurther comprise a display brightness adjustment to control, forexample, backlighting or display intensity, and an enclosure.Alternatively, the electronic facility 101 may include a visible lightsensor capable of sensing an environmental lighting condition, alongwith a facility to automatically adjust the display brightness basedupon the sensed environmental lighting condition.

The electronic facility 101 may yet further comprise software to supportmethods associated with transactions. This software may comprise anoperating system, a memory display manager, a database display manager,an analysis algorithm, an analysis procedure, an interface controller, aday planner, an I/O driver, a display driver, a scheduler, a commandmanager, a clock, a calendar, a universal electronic transactionfacility initialization program, an authorization program, a securitymanager, a signature manager, or any other software feature associatedwith transactions or associated data that is associated withtransactions.

By emulating a physical entity (such as a credit card), the electronicfacility 101 may provide a user with an alternative to carrying thephysical entity. By emulating a plurality of physical entities (such asa credit card, driver's license, event ticket and phone card), theelectronic facility 101 may act as an electronic wallet that may relieveits user of the need to carry physical entities, such as cards, in aphysical wallet. To support this functionality, the electronic facility101 may further comprise an application that emulates a physical entity,such as graphically emulating the physical entity, or emulating theentity using audio or video, for example. This application may emulate acredit card, a bank card, a medical card, a driver's license, a phonecard, an airline travel card, a car rental card, a universal integratedcard, a loyalty program or rewards card, or any other physical entityassociated with the user of an electronic facility 101, such as anyentity used in the services, applications, environments and transactionsdescribed herein. In embodiments, emulating a physical entity includesemulating visual physical characteristics of the entity, such as abrand, logo, trademark, font, format, shape or the like. In otherembodiments, emulating a physical entity may include storing digitalinformation associated with the entity, such as identification numbers,pass codes, serial numbers, or the like. In embodiments digitalinformation may be associated with a visual representation of theentity.

Applications described herein, such as those supporting credit card andbank card transactions, for example, may enable numeric entry by theuser, such as entry of a personal identification number (“PIN”), adollar amount, or any other entry that may enable features such aspaying a gratuity, requesting a cash back quantity, or specifying anyother monetary quantity associated with a transaction.

The medical card application may comprise an associated medical history,insurance information, photo identification, or any other informationassociated with the medical aspect of a person.

The airline travel card application may comprise an interface with anairline reservation system or an interface with any other systemassociated with airline travel.

The universal integrated card application may integrate a number ofdifferent applications, associated identifications, accounts, or anyother items associated with universal integrated card methods.

To support methods associated with the electronic facility 101 or ageneral activity of the user of the electronic facility 101, theelectronic facility 101 may support one or more additional features. Anadditional feature may include, for example, an entry of a code, whichmay be an alphanumeric code, a personal identifier, a password, apersonal identification number, or a signature. The additional featuremay also, or alternatively, include a display of an electronic facilityoption (such as an account summary), a display of a status associatedwith a transaction (such as “transaction complete”), a display of anumeric keypad (such as for numeric entry of a gratuity on a restaurantpurchase), a notepad, a to-do list, a contact list, an email program, atask manager, a message manager, an instant messaging program, an alarm,a reminder feature, or any other feature that might be usefully includedwith the electronic facility 101, or methods and services providedthereby.

To enable a transactional method, the electronic facility 101 may needto interact with a main service facility 142. The main service facility142 may be a server, such as an HTTP server, a personal computer, aworkstation, a laptop computer, or any other computer or computingdevice. In embodiments, the main service facility 142 may providefunctions as services in a services-oriented architecture, where theservices are listed in a registry of such services that can be accessedby clients of the main service facility 142, such as the electronicfacility 101, to use the services. In embodiments the main servicefacility 142 may comprise a distributed computer, a cluster computer, anetwork of workstations, a server, a supercomputer, a mainframecomputer, a server farm, and/or any combination of these deployed at oneor more geographic locations.

The interaction with the main service facility 142 may occur via theexternal connector 131, which may be employed in association with theelectronic facility 101 and the main service facility 142 during theexecution of a transactional method herein described. The externalconnector 131 may comprise a telecommunications/Internet facility 138,an information processing facility 129, user input keys 128, liquidcrystal display (LCD) 130, a personal computer (PC) interface facility132, or any other feature or facility associated with supporting atransactional method between the electronic facility 101 and the mainservice facility 142. The information processing facility 124 maycomprise a microcontroller, RAM, ROM, I/O facility, and any otherfacility associated with information processing. The external connector131 may interface with a local communication facility 152 via an RFfacility, an IR facility, or any other appropriate facility allowingcommunication between the electronic facility 101 and the externalconnector 131. The communication facility 152 may be passive or active,or may include any combination of active and passive components.

A participant may desire a capability associated with the transaction,such as scanning a coupon presented by the user, scanning a ticket heldby the user, or the like. To support this capability, the connector 131may also interface with a support computer 134 via a PC interfacefacility 132. The external connector 131 may be associated with amerchant or other transaction participant. The communication facility109 may facilitate data transmission with the external facility 131 viathe local communication facility 152. The local communication facility152 may include a contact facility 120 and/or a contact-less facility122. The PC interface facility 132 may be passive or active. The PCinterface facility 132 may comprise any practicable data transferfacility, including USB, parallel, serial, Ethernet, PSTN, 802.11, WiFi,WiMax, IrDA, or Bluetooth, or any other wired or wireless facility. ThePC interface facility 132 may be alterable after the deployment of theexternal connector 131 to an environment, allowing the interface to beadapted to its environment as the environment may change, for example,due to a modification to the support computer 134. The support computer134 may provide any facility desired by the user of the support computer134 that is associated with a transaction involving the user of theelectronic facility 101 and the user of the support computer 134.

The external connector 131, independently or in association with thesupport computer 134, may provide a verification feature when used inassociation with electronic facility 101. This verification feature mayinclude displaying a photograph; comparing a photograph to a referencephotograph; comparing a fingerprint to a reference fingerprint;comparing a voice print to a reference voice print; comparing asignature to a reference signature; displaying a signature; comparing aniris scan to a reference iris scan, or any other feature allowing thecomparison of two data sets, one associated with a candidate user andanother associated with a known user. The verification feature may also,or instead, employ any combination of PINs, passwords, usernames, anddigital keys or certificates to verify identity. Any of the physicalentities required for verification may also be stored in or emulated inthe electronic transaction facility 101, such as a photograph of theuser, fingerprint, voice print, iris scan, or other biometric data, suchas a CT scan, MRI result, or the like.

The technology comprising the external connector 131 may be integrated,in whole or in part, into the support computer 134.

The support computer 134, as has been mentioned, may interface with theexternal connector 131. Through the external connector 131, the supportcomputer 134 may communicate with the electronic facility 101. Thesupport computer 134 may also communicate with the main service facility142 through the telecommunications/Internet facility 138 of the externalconnector 131. The communication of the support computer 134 with theelectronic facility 101 and the main service facility 142 may support orenable a transactional method with the support computer 134 playing aparticipant's role in the transaction.

When communicating with the main service facility 142, the supportcomputer 134 may send a code; send a transaction request; send anauthorization request; receive an authorization; receive a receipt;receive an acknowledgement; send a coupon; receive approval to redeem acoupon; check for available inventory (for example, the availability oftickets to a theatrical event); request a purchase of availableinventory; or request a cell phone top-up. The support computer 134 mayalso send and receive other communications from the main servicefacility 142 as specified in the transactional methods herein described.In each case, items that are associated with a transaction may be storedand accessed in a manner that allows access to an emulated formatversion of their physical format, such as showing a “PAID” stamp on areceipt, showing an official logo on a ticket, or showing an actualphysical signature on a signed document. This emulated physical form maybe associated with digital data, such as data to ensure uniqueness of aparticular representation of an item. Thus, the methods and systemsdescribed herein may support storing, manipulating, retrieving,exchanging and otherwise using a close (if not identical) graphicaldepiction of an actual entity (e.g., an actual driver's license, asopposed to a picture of a driver's license, an actual ticket, as opposedto evidence of having purchased it, or the like), as opposed to mereinformation about the represented entity.

The support computer 134 may be a point-of-sale (POS) computer. The POScomputer may be installed at a store, a fuel pump, a restaurant, a bar,a hotel, a tollbooth, a doctor's office, an airport or other ticketinglocation, or any other location where a transaction may take place. Inembodiments, the POS computer may be equipped with a facility designedto interact with the electronic facility 101. The POS computer may be anautomated teller machine (ATM), may be installed in an ATM, or may takeany other practicable form. The support computer 134 may be ane-commerce server connected to the Internet. The support computer 134may be a server connected to the PSTN. In this case, the server maycomprise functions that allow for voice interaction with the user, DTMFdecoding, SMS reception, SMS transmission, or any other methodfacilitating data transmission via the PSTN.

The support computer 134 may be capable of conducting proximitytransactions in association with the electronic facility 101 and themain service facility 142. The support computer 134 may also be capableof accessing from the main service facility 142 information associatedwith the transactional methods herein described.

The user of an electronic facility 101 may want to utilize a localcomputer 160, such as the user's personal computer, to perform an actionassociated with a transaction, herein described.

To support the utilization of the local computer 160, the communicationfacility 109 may further comprise a personal connection 158 to the localcomputer 160. The personal connection 158 may comprise a USB connection,a Firewire connection, an Ethernet connection, an AT keyboardconnection, a PS/2 keyboard or mouse connection, a MIDI connection, agame port connection, an IEEE 1284 parallel connection, or any otherpracticable serial or parallel connection. The personal connection 158may also, or instead, include a local area networking facilitysupporting wired or wireless network protocols such as 802.11 andEthernet. The personal connection 158 may yet further comprise a shortrange wireless communication facility supporting protocols such asBluetooth®, IrDA, or any other infrared, radio frequency or other methodsupporting the wireless transmission of data over a short range.

The local computer 160 may be a personal computer. The personal computermay interface with the electronic facility 101 via a connection such asthe above-described physical connection 158. The personal computer maysupport transactional analysis, which may comprise analysis associatedwith personal taxation; analysis associated with personal budgeting;analysis associated with compiling a personal financial summary; or anyother analysis associated with a transaction. The personal computer mayfurther comprise software to access a remote computer. This remotecomputer may be associated with a transactional service company and maybe the main service facility 142. When accessing a remote computer, thelocal computer 160 may access or review information associated with afinancial account wherein the information is stored in the removecomputer. The local computer 160 may also change at the remote computerinformation associated with a financial account.

In one application of this invention, a health service may be providedin which an electronic facility 101 may be used for inputting, storing,processing, and/or transmitting personal information, including personalmedical history (including radiological images memory-availabilitypermitting), account information, and transactional information. Atleast one central health care information processing facility isprovided, which may comprise a main service facility 142, a customerdatabase 155, an operator station 150, a notable data 148, a networkcommunication facility 154, and/or a special interface 140. In Pitroda(included above by reference), the central health care informationprocessing facility is disclosed as a “health care management system”and, within the context of Pitroda's description of the health caremanagement system, the electronic facility 101 is referred to as a “UETcard” and a “universal electronic transaction card.”

In another application of this invention, an electronic credittransaction service may be provided in which an electronic facility 101may be used for conducing electronic credit transactions. At least onecredit transaction processing facility may be provided, which maycomprise a main service facility 142, a customer database 155, anoperator station 150, a notable datum or data 148, a networkcommunication facility 154, and/or a special interface 140. In addition,a point of transaction system may be provided, which may comprise anexternal connector 131. In embodiments, the credit transactionprocessing facility may be a “service institution system” as describedin the documents incorporated herein by reference, and, within thecontext of a service institution system pertaining to the electroniccredit transaction, the electronic facility 101 may be referred to as a“UET card” and a “universal electronic transaction card.”

In a general application, some or all the items in FIG. 1 may becombined to provide a transactional service to a user. The transactionalservice may comprise, without limitation, a payment service, anon-payment service, a health-related service, an infotainment service,a personal information management service, a travel service, aperson-to-person service, a money order service, a money transferservice, a prepaid airtime top-up service, a ticketing service, aloyalty service, a coupon service, a promotional service, an electroniccheckbook service, a driver's license service, a gaming portal service,a government portal service, an enterprise portal service, ahealth/fitness portal service, a religious portal service, a sportsportal service, an insurance portal service, a university portalservice, a user-centric interface facility, a user-centric enginefacility, and a security facility. Some of these transactional servicesare herein described, and the entire teachings of the documentsreferenced herein are incorporated by reference.

In some applications, the main service facility 142 may comprise aspecial interface 140 for aggregating telephone lines. In this case, thespecial interface 140 may provide caller ID functionality foridentifying the source of a dial-in; may receive dial-in from a POScomputer; may be accessed by a credit card company or other serviceprovider; or may support any method associated with a transaction.Alternatively, in modern applications, the special interface 140 maycomprise an Internet connection. In this case, the special interface 140may receive IP packets from a client computer; provide the IP address ofthe client computer; may receive incoming data packets from a POScomputer; may be accessed by a credit card company or other serviceprovider; or may support any method associated with a transaction. Thus,the main service facility 142 may be coupled to a telecommunicationsnetwork or the Internet via the special interface 140. More generally,the special interface 140 may provide any needed degree of connectivitybetween incompatible physical, programming, protocol-based or otherinterfaces to a main service facility 142

To support the transactional methods herein described; methodsassociated with a transaction; or any other transactional method, themain service facility 142 may further comprise software (“main servicefacility software”). The main service facility 142 may still furthercomprise a customer database 144, such as any relational database orother database, data store, file, mass storage device, or other storagefacility, which may be associated with the main service facilitysoftware. The main service facility 142 may be capable of storing andprocessing notable data 148 that is associated with the electronicfacility 101. This notable data 218, which may be stored in the database214, may pertain to transactions, reports, analysis, accountauthorization, credit card issuance and cancellation, or any other thingassociated with the electronic facility 101. The central computersoftware may also comprise applications and programs for accomplishing avariety of functions and services. In embodiments, services may bedeployed in an application-oriented architecture, wherein clients of theservices (including the main service facility 142, the support computer134 and the local computer 160) may access the services to achieve thefunctions. Services may be listed in a registry of such services,discussed below in detail. In embodiments the services may be deployedwith user interfaces that are optimized for use by particular clientfacilities, such as a particular type of support computer, localcomputer, or user device. More generally, the software may include anycombination of programming languages, environments, and/or othersoftware platforms, modules, or other technologies suitable forproviding the functionality described herein, in source code form,executable form, or some intermediate form.

Referring now to FIG. 19, an assortment of logical aspects of anembodiment 1938 of an electronic facility 101 is depicted. Theembodiment 1938 is capable of receiving a user input 1900 that may bedirected to any number of transactional service references orapplications 1910. One such user input 1900 is directed to thetransactional service reference “Pay Bill” 1902, another is directed tothe transactional service reference “Order Airline Ticket” 1904, anotheris directed to the transactional service reference “Check Allergies”1908, and another is directed to the application 1910.

As is shown, the transactional service reference “Pay Bill” 1902 refersto an RPC client stub 1920 that is associated, for example, with thecompany Bank of America. Likewise, the transactional service referenceOrder Airline Ticket 1904 refers to a URL 1922 associated, for instance,with the company American Airlines and the transactional servicereference Check Allergies 1908 is associated with an applet 1924 that isassociated, for example, with the health insurance company BlueCross/Blue Shield.

A number of the objects to which these transactional service referencesrefer are associated with facilities that are external to the embodiment1938. The Bank of America RPC client stub 1920 is associated with aserver 1928 that is associated with the company Bank of America, whereinthe server 1928 may be associated with an RPC server stub that iscompatible with RPC client stub 1920. The American Airlines URL 1922 isindirectly associated with an HTTP server 1932 that is associated withthe company American Airlines.

The indirect association between the American Airlines URL 1922 is dueto the need to resolve the URL 1922 to an IP address of the HTTP server1932. The benefits of this indirection are well known in the art, andinclude the ability to decouple the name of a Web site from the physicaladdress of the Web site.

The resolution of the URL 1922 is depicted as a first arrow pointingfrom the URL 1922 to DNS server 1930 representative of a query from theembodiment 1938 to the DNS server 1930; a second arrow pointing from theDNS server 1930 to the URL 1922 representative of a name resolution fromthe DNS server 1930 to the embodiment 1938; and a third arrow pointingfrom the URL 1922 to HTTP server 1932 representative of a HTTP requestfrom the embodiment 1938 to the HTTP server 1932.

One of the objects to which a transactional service refers is associatedwith a facility that is internal to the embodiment 1938: The BlueCross/Blue Shield applet 1924 is associated with a machine commandprocessing facility 1918. In practice, the machine command processingfacility 1918 is likely to be a central processing unit providing eithera native machine command processing function or a virtual machinecommand processing function. The machine command processing facility1918 may be microcontroller 104.

Within the embodiment 1938, an application 1910 may invoke an additionalservice reference. Two such references are depicted, additional servicereference Security 1912 and additional service reference PasswordManagement 1914. Security 1912 references an applet which may beexecuted by the machine command processing facility 1918. PasswordManagement 1914 is an RPC client stub associated with a server 1934 thatperforms as a password management facility.

One distinction between a transactional service reference and anapplication is that the former is associated with a transactionalservice and the latter is not. This qualitative distinction illustratesthat the systems described herein may perform both transactional andnon-transactional functions, some of which are herein described andothers of which will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart. However, as a matter of implementation, there may not be adistinction between the two, as both may be responsive to user input;both may refer to a URL, an RPC stub, an applet, or any other executableor informational object; both may be invoked by the user orautomatically by the embodiment 1938; and both may be embodied as anexecutable, interpreted, or static byte sequence.

In some circumstances, it may be useful for a transactional servicereference to indirectly reference a service provider facility. Oneexample of this, disclosed above, is the URL 1922 that may bede-referenced via the DNS server 1930 to an IP address associated withthe HTTP server 1932. More generally any system may be used forde-referencing external objects in a digital, networked environment,such as the Digital Object Identifier system, which is a system foridentifying content objects in the digital environment developed by theInternational DOI Foundation. Other name or object resolution systemsand methods are also well known in the art and may be utilized in theembodiment 1938 or the electronic facility 101.

Referring now to FIG. 20, a client 2000, which may be the electronicfacility 101 of which the embodiment 1938 is one exemplary instance, maycommunicate with a registry 2002 and a server 2004. The registry 2002may be the DNS server 1930; a DOI registration agency; an FTP server; aregistry of services; and/or any other facility that providesdereferencing, data processing, data storage, data upload, datadownload, and/or any other service associated with a server in anetwork.

Applications and transactional service references may be installed into,modified, or removed from the client 2000 by a method that may compriseaccessing the server 2004 to receive an install, modification, orremoval instruction; a static byte sequence; an executable bytesequence; an interpretable byte sequence; or any other byte sequence.The client 2000 and the server 2004 may rely on the registry 2002 tode-reference or otherwise process data associated with an application ortransactional service reference.

Referring now again to FIG. 1, the central computer software may utilizea data format used by a bank or credit card company; store dataassociated with a transaction; generate a report associated with atransaction; analyze data associated with a transaction; process anaccount authorization; receive data from the electronic facility 101;maintain a customer database; support a plurality of operator stations150 (for example, a customer service facility); enable e-commercefunctionality; enable connectivity to an electronic facility 101; enableconnectivity to a support computer 134; enable connectivity to anexternal facility 131; enable connectivity to a service institution;and/or perform any other function associated with a transaction.

The central computer software may archive a client password; a code(such as a personal identification code); personal information; or anyother information associated with the user or a transaction. Thepersonal information may comprise a street address, a marital status, aname of a spouse, a name of a child, a personal preference (which maycomprise a privacy specification and a secrecy specification), a name ofan employer, a driver's license, a social security number, a date ofbirth, a maiden name, a mother's maiden name, a place of birth, a formeraddress, or any other information associated with the user.

The central computer software may additionally, or alternatively,archive financial information such as a bank account number, a creditcard number, a number representative of income, information associatedwith an investment, information associated with an asset, informationassociated with a payment history, information associated with a credithistory, information associated with a loan, or any other informationassociated with finances.

The central computer software may also, or instead, archive medicalinformation such as a medical history, medical records (including, butnot limited to, radiological images, EKGs, EEGs, immunization records),a name of a physician, information associated with an emergency contact,an indication of an allergy, an indication of an ailment, an indicationof a treatment, and indication of a medication, a hereditary condition,a family history, a prescription, a list of current medications, or anyother information associated with the user's health or associated withthe maintenance of the user's health. Medical information may alsoinclude information associated with a health care plan or other healthinsurance or health care providers, such as a plan number, benefitsdescription, account number, deductible information, and so forth.

The central computer software may also, or instead, archiveorganizational information, which may comprise an appointment, anaddress book, a memo, a note, a to-do list, a calendar, or any otherinformation associated with the day-to-day organization of the user.

The central computer software may also, or instead, archive informationassociated with an insurance provider, an emergency contact, amembership in a club, a membership in a trade association, or any otherinformation associated with the user's affiliation with an entity.

Moreover, the central computer software may archive informationassociated with travel, which may comprise information associated with adiscount or travel voucher, a hospitality company, a transportationcompany, a car rental company, or any other information associated withthe travel and lodging of the user. Other travel information mayinclude, for example, passport and visa information, travel itineraries,reservations for rooms, cars, airplanes, and so forth, currencyconversion information, time zone information, and the like.

The main service facility 142 may also have the capability of supportingtransactional methods described herein, which are the subject of thepresent invention.

The electronic facility 101 may have the capability to store the sametype of data stored by the central computer software. Indeed, the datastored by the central computer software may comprise an archive of thedata stored in the electronic facility 101.

The notable data 148 may be recorded electronically, which may obviatethe need for paper receipts either at the electronic facility 101 or atthe main service facility 142.

The main service facility 142 may provide online analysis services tothe electronic facility 101. These analysis services may include creditverification, transaction analysis, billing, payments, and any otheranalysis associated with transactional data.

The electronic facility 101 may comprise a universal electronictransaction facility, which may comprise a universal electronictransaction card, such as the card described in Pitroda. The universalelectronic transaction card may further comprise a smartcard facility, amicrophone with speech recognition, a Bluetooth® facility, a virtualprivate network facility, a holographic memory facility, a removable RAMfacility, a removable ROM facility, a registration facility capable ofregistering with a central security agency, an activation facilitycapable of interacting with the service facility, and any other feature,function, or facility of the electronic facility 101 herein described.The electronic facility 101 may comprise a Windows, Linux, or Macintoshcomputer.

The electronic facility 101 may require the completion of aninitialization procedure prior to use. This initialization may associatethe user with the electronic facility 101. As shown in FIG. 21, in onestep in the initialization process, the user of the electronic facility101 may be required to sign in a designated area using, for example, apen or a stylus and a digitizing pad that converts the user's signatureinto a bit map or other digital form. This signature may become apermanent record similar to the signature appearing on a driver'slicense or credit card. This signature may be used for verification,identification, and security purposes. Once entered, the signature maybe stored in a nonvolatile RAM 110. The signature may be automaticallydisplayed on a display of the device, such as the touch screen display100 during a transaction.

As shown in FIG. 22, in another step in the initialization process, theuser of the electronic facility 101 may be required to provide a code,which may be, any alphanumeric or other code, such as a password, or anumeric code. The code may be maintained by the user in confidence, muchlike a personal identification number (PIN) used in connection with anATM card. Later providing the code may be a prerequisite to accessinginformation stored in the electronic facility 101. Conversely, laterfailing to provide the code may result in the partial or totaldisablement of the electronic facility 101. Once the electronic facility101 is initialized with a signature and a code it may be ready fornormal use.

As shown in FIG. 29, during standard operation of the electronicfacility 101, boxes at the top of the display may appear. These boxesmay be associated with commands such as “type”, “print”, “erase”,“security”, “shift”, or any other command supported by the electronicfacility 101. The remaining part of the display may be available for thedisplay and analysis of information associated with transactionalmethods.

A specific area may be assigned for an original signature that may beentered by the user into the electronic facility 101 during one step inthe initialization procedure. The signature may be permanently stored inthe electronic facility 101 and may be used for identification purposes.In the same display area, the user of the electronic facility 101 may berequired, for the purposes of identification and authorization of theuser, to write a signature during the exercise of a transactionalmethod. Instead of or in addition to the signature, the electronicfacility 101 may require, again for the purposes of identification andauthorization of the user, that the user pose for a photograph, offer afingerprint, record a voice print, submit to an iris scan, or allow anyother digitization of a physical trait likely to identify the user.

In a certain situation, it may be desirable for the electronic facility101 to display a simulation or simulacrum of a physical entity such as acredit card. In this situation, the original signature sample, which wascollected during the initialization process, may be displayed andvisually inspected during the exercise of a transactional method by aparticipant in the transaction other than the user, such as a merchant.The electronic facility 101 may also display basic entity information,which may comprise a name, a card number, a date of issue, an expirationdate, and any other information stored within the electronic facility101. This display of basic card information may take the form of a barcode that may be read by a bar code reader.

FIG. 34 outlines an initialization process for an electronic facility101. When the electronic facility 101 is first purchased by the user, itmay have a default security code that may be reset by any user. Toinitialize the electronic facility 101, the user may activate the poweron/off switch 114, as shown in FIG. 1. The image shown in FIG. 21 maythen appear on the display of the electronic facility 101. The user maywrite his or her signature on the display in the space indicated. Thissignature may be stored in nonvolatile RAM 110. Alternatively, the usermay provide a personal identification number in lieu of a signature.

Next, the image shown in FIG. 22 will appear on the display of theelectronic facility 101, requesting the user to input a code. The usermay input a numeric code of any number of digits, such as 10 digits. Inan alternate embodiment, the code may be an alphanumeric code and may bemore or less than 10 characters. The user may enter the code by touchingthe numbers (or letters, where alphanumeric capabilities are provided)on the bottom of the display in the desired sequence. The user may usethe “CLR” key to erase numbers erroneously entered. When the user issatisfied with the code, the user may use the “ENT” key to input thecode into nonvolatile RAM 110. Thereafter, the electronic facility 101,including information stored within the electronic facility 101, may beunusable until the code is reentered. From time to time, the user mayhave to reenter the code to render usable both the electronic facility101 and the information therein stored.

As an additional means of security, the service facility may requirethat the user who purchases or receives an electronic facility 101register it with a main service facility 142 to receive a personalidentification number (PIN). This number may be different from thesecurity code entered by the user into the electronic facility 101during initialization. Embodiments of security features are describedmore particularly below.

One purpose of the electronic device 101 is to provide the user with theability to conduct a transaction with the service facility. The servicefacility may comprise one or more of a WSC server as defined by Pitroda(included above by reference), a credit card company, a bank, adepartment store, a travel service company, a gas station, a restaurant,a health service provider, or any other entity with which the user maywant to conduct a transaction. A health service provider may comprise atreatment facility, a laboratory, a pharmacy, an emergency room, or anyother facility associated with providing health or medical services.

In order to activate the electronic facility 101 for use with theservice facility, the user of the electronic facility 101 may complete anormal qualification step required by the service facility. Thisqualification step may comprise a background check, a credit check, avalidation of government-issued documents, or any other step associatedwith ascertaining the appropriateness of the user to be serviced by theservice facility.

After the service facility qualifies the user, it may notify the user ofthe approval. The user may then connect the electronic facility 101 toan external connector 131, which may dial the number of a main servicefacility 142, or otherwise establish bi-directional communications withthe main service facility 142 using, for example, the Internet or adedicated private network, that is empowered by the service facility totransmit authorization data enabling the electronic facility 101 tofunction as a “credit card” or other type of “card” associated with theservice facility.

Next, the service facility may identify the user through a PIN known apriori to both the user and the service facility. Alternatively, theservice facility may identify the user through caller identification ofthe user's phone number. Similarly, identity may be established using,for example, a trusted third party service, such as provided byVerisign, Inc., authenticate each participant, and optionally establishsecure communications among the participants.

Once the service facility has identified the user, it may transmitinformation to the electronic facility 101 via the external connector131. This information may comprise a category in which the servicefacility is classified, a date of issuance, a date of expiration, acredit limit, a card number, a name of the service facility, and animage associated with institution.

The service facility may also receive information from the electronicfacility 101 via the external connector 131. This information may beassociated with the user, may be associated with the electronic facility101, and may comprise a unique serial number of the electronic facility101 and the encoded signature of the user of the electronic facility101.

When the user is desirous of utilizing the electronic facility 101 toexercise a transactional method, the following sequence may take place:First, the user may turn on the power of the electronic facility 101.Optionally, the user may be prompted to enter the security code.

The electronic facility 101 may permit the user a fixed and limitednumber of attempts at entering the security code. When the user fails toenter the security code within the fixed and limited number of attempts,the card may deactivate itself in a manner that renders it unusablewithout reauthorization from the service facility. On the other hand,when the user enters the security code within the fixed and limitednumber of attempts, the display shown in FIG. 4 may appear. At thispoint, the user may select an option from a menu of choices that maycomprise a credit card transaction, a bank card transaction, a retailcredit transactions, a medical transaction, an insurance transaction, anaction associated personal identification, an action associated withtravel, an action associated with telephony, an action associated withcoupon redemption, an action associated with a person-to-personfinancial transfer, an action associated with browsing merchandise, anaction associated with paying a bill, and any other action associatedwith the service facility with which the electronic facility 101 be beenactivated for use.

The action associated with browsing merchandise may be one of checkingfor a bargain, checking for a discount, checking for a related product,and receiving promotional information. Any action selected by the usermay invoke, exercise, or contribute to the completion of a transactionalmethod.

One step in the transactional method may comprise receivingauthorization from the service facility. This authorization may begenerated by main service facility 142 on behalf of the servicefacility. The authorization may be contingent upon the verification of asignature, a code, or an approval. The authorization may be received atelectronic facility 101 or support computer 134 via external connector131.

Following the completion of a transactional method the electronicfacility 101 may perform an action associated with accountreconciliation.

Referring to FIG. 45, high-level steps are presented for a generaltransactional method in which a user may use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant. In thismethod, the user may initiate the transaction. This transactional methodmay involve two facilities, a first facility F1 and a fourth facilityF4. In this transactional method, a request from the first facility F1may be received by the fourth facility F4. The fourth facility may thentransmit an acknowledgement to the first facility F1. Generally, thefirst facility F1 may comprise an electronic facility 101 and, thus, maybe referred to as “the client facility.” Generally, the fourth facilityF4 may be the main service facility 142, which may be the servicefacility, which may be a transaction service facility, a “wallet servicecenter”, a financial service provider, and/or a bank. Securityfacilities for handling requests are described more particularly below.

This transactional method may be a method for providing to the firstfacility F1 a financial transaction service, wherein the request fromthe first facility F1 is a transaction request. This transactionalmethod may further comprise a communication between the first facilityF1 and the fourth facility F4.

Referring to FIG. 46, high-level steps are presented for another generaltransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant (referredto in this paragraph as “the other participant”). In this method, theother participant may initiate the transaction. This transactionalmethod may involve two facilities, the first facility F1 and the fourthfacility F4. First, an alert may be transmitted from the fourth facilityF4 to the first facility F1. Then, the fourth facility F4 may receive anacknowledgement from the first facility F1. In embodiments the alert mayinclude a secure communication according to the security protocols andfacilities described more particularly below.

There are many types of business processes that can be supported by asystem that has an electronic transactions facility 101. For example,FIG. 6 depicts a ticket issuance process where a user, perhaps inassociation with the client device 162, the merchant systems 170, and/orthe main service facility 142, may be issued a ticket.

FIG. 7 depicts a ticket redemption process whereby a user, perhaps inassociation with the client device 162, the merchant system 170, and/orthe main service facility 142, may redeem a ticket.

Referring to FIG. 8, high-level steps are presented for a transaction inwhich a user can use an electronic facility 101 to conduct a transactionwith another facility, wherein the transaction may involve the firststep of bill presentment. This method may involve three facilities, thefirst facility F1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. Inthis transactional method, an alert associated with a pendingtransaction may be transmitted by the fourth facility F4 to the firstfacility F1. The fourth facility F4 may then receive a response from thefirst facility F1, wherein the response may be a request for directsettlement of the pending transaction associated. Next, the fourthfacility F4 may receive a message from the second facility F2, whereinthe message may comprise information pertaining to the transaction.Following that, the fourth facility F4 may send a request for a code tothe first facility F1. Later, the fourth facility F4 may receive a code800 from the first facility F1. The fourth facility F4 may determine thevalidity of the code 800. Finally, the fourth facility F4 may transmitan acknowledgement of the pending transaction being settled to both thefirst facility F1 and the second facility F2. In embodiments thecommunications include secure packets according to the securityprotocols and facilities described more particularly below.

In this context, the second facility F2 may be a merchant facility, or atransaction facility of any other seller, reseller, or other agent forthe sale of goods, services, or combinations thereof that mightfinancially transact with the user. The message received from the secondfacility F2 by the fourth facility F4 may further comprise an identifierthat is unique to the second facility F2.

This method may be a method for providing the first facility F1 with thecapability of transacting with the second facility F2. This method maybe a method for providing the second facility F2 with the capability offirst sending a bill to the first facility F1 and then receiving paymentof the bill from the first facility F1.

In one example, the alert associated with a pending transaction mayinclude a bill. In embodiments, this bill will include a detailedlisting of all charges, taxes, service fees as well as a grand total. Insome embodiments, the bill will be dynamic allowing a user to change theservice fee to reflect the level of satisfaction with the service. Inembodiments, the bill be presented as a graphical depiction of an actualentity. The code 800 may be a personal identifier, a password, apersonal identification number, or any other confidential data known tothe user and not generally known to other users.

Any of the steps of this transaction may be comprise the transmission ofdata (or a payload). The data may be without limitation the alert, theresponse, the message, the request for a code, the code, or theacknowledgement. The data may be transmitted in a secure fashion, suchas via SSL, XML Encryption, SSH, and so forth. The bill may be agraphical replica of a physical bill, which may comprise branding,images, and information required to complete the transaction. The firstfacility F1 may securely store, such as in a smart card, a plurality ofbills and may from time to time alert the user, such as with an audiblealarm, when an attribute of the bill matches a preset criterion. Inembodiments, the attribute may without limitation comprise the time ofissuance of the bill, a specified number of days prior to the due dateof the bill, the due date of the bill, the amount of the bill, the timeof provision of the product or service associated with the bill, and soforth. The criterion may without limitation comprise a Boolean valueindicating a user preference to receive an alert when the time ofissuance of the bill matches the present time, a Boolean valueindicating a user preference to receive an alert when the specifiednumber of days prior to the due date of a bill matches the present day,a Boolean value indicating a user preference to receive an alert whenthe due date of the bill matches the present day, a Boolean valueindicating a user preference to receive an alert when the amount of thebill is less than, equal to, or greater than a preset value, a Booleanvalue indicating a user preference to receive an alert when the time ofprovision of the product or service associated with the bill matches apreset time. The user may securely pay a bill using the client facilityin real-time with on-line or off-line settlement, using a preferred modeof payment, at a preferred time and from a preferred location. Theacknowledgement of the pending transaction may comprise a receipt or areplica of the bill with a “PAID” stamp. The client facility maysecurely store and/or archive the bill, such as by writing the bill to asmart card. Alternatively, a Web-based personalized portal may securelystore and/or archive the bill, such as by encrypting the bill andstoring it in an RDBMS. In some embodiments, a profile-driven valueadded service associated with the bill may be transmitted to the user bythe personalized portal, such as a coupon offer for a competitiveservice related to a service for which the user just paid.

Referring now to FIG. 9, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may be a peer-to-peer asset transfer. This transactionalmethod may involve three facilities, the first facility F1, a secondfacility F2, and fourth facility F4. In this transactional method, thefourth facility F4 may receive a reference 900 to the second facility F2from the first facility F1. Then, the fourth facility F4 may send arequest for a code to the first facility F1. Later, the fourth facilityF4 may receive a code 800 from the first facility F1. The fourthfacility F4 may determine the validity of the code 800. Following that,the fourth facility F4 may settle a transaction between the firstfacility F1 and the second facility F2. The fourth facility F4 may senda confirmation of the transaction to both the first facility F1 and thesecond facility F2. The communications of alerts and other informationmay be secure in accordance with the security facilities described moreparticularly below.

This method may be a method for providing a person-to-person assettransfer from first facility F1 to second facility F2. Within thecontext of this method, the second facility F2 may be an electronicfacility 101. The reference 900 to a second facility may be anidentifier, which may be a unique identifier. More generally, a numberof variations, additions, and omissions to the above method will bereadily apparent, and are intended to fall within the scope of themethods and systems described herein.

Some transactional methods effect the transfer of funds between twofacilities. Referring now to FIG. 18, a common element in these methodsmay be a funds transfer request data structure 1808. A funds transferrequest 1808 may comprise a reference to a source facility 1800, areference to destination facility 1802, and a transfer amount 1804. Thereferences 1808 and 1802 may be identical in type to reference 900. Thedata structure 1808 may also include a header to identify the type ofdata contained within the packet. Embodiments of such data structuresare described more particularly below.

Returning to FIG. 9 and subsequent figures, in embodiments, the fourthfacility F4 may securely issue a payment token, which may comprise anelectronic replica of a payment such as an image of a payment stub,directly to the client facility. This payment token may comprisebranding, images, and other information required to complete atransaction. The request for a code that is sent to the first facilityF1 may comprise this payment token. In all, this transactional methodmay enable the user of the client facility, which may be first facilityF1, to pay another user of a similar client facility, which may besecond facility F2. This payment may or may not comprise a proximitytransaction. In any case, the client facility and/or the similar clientfacility may send and/or receive from the fourth facility F4 via anover-the-air facility, such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, and so forth.This transactional method may securely settle a transaction in real timewith on-line or off-line settlement by securely debiting a financialaccount associated with the first facility F1 and by securely creditinga financial account associated with the second facility F2. Thisdebiting and/or crediting may be conducted by the forth facility F4. Theconfirmation of the transaction may comprise a receipt and/or anelectronic replica of a transaction summary statement, such as thatcommonly printed on a slip of paper by an automated teller machine (ATM)and provided by the ATM to the user of the ATM at the conclusion of atransaction. The confirmation of the transaction may be sent securelyand/or may comprise a “PAID” stamp. The client facility may securelystore and/or archive the confirmation of the transaction, such as bywriting the confirmation to a smart card. Alternatively, a Web-basedpersonalized portal may securely store and/or archive the confirmation,such as by encrypting the bill and storing it in a RDBMS. In someembodiments, a profile-driven value added service associated with theconfirmation of the transaction may be transmitted to the user via thepersonalized portal, such as a promotional offer targeted to thedemographic of the user.

Referring now to FIG. 10, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may be a transfer of assets from one facility to anothersuch as a funds transfer from one bank account to another. Thistransactional method may involve two facilities, the first facility F1and the fourth facility F4. In this transactional method, the fourthfacility F4 may receive a request for funds transfer from a firstfacility F1. Then, the fourth facility F4 may send a request for a codeto the first facility F1. Later, the fourth facility F4 may receive acode 800 from the first facility F1. The fourth facility F4 maydetermine the validity of the code 800. Following that, the fourthfacility F4 may initiate a funds transfer from first facility F1 toanother facility. The fourth facility F4 may send a confirmation of thetransaction to the first facility F1.

This method may be a method for providing a funds transfer from onefinancial account to another. The request for funds transfer maycomprise a funds transfer request data structure 1808. In this context,the reference to a source facility 1800 may be a reference to firstfacility F1 and the reference to a destination facility 1802 may be areference to another facility.

In embodiments, the fourth facility F4 may securely issue an electronicreplica of a money transfer token, which may comprise necessarybranding, images, and/or information required to complete thetransaction. The request for a code that is sent to the first facilityF1 may comprise the electronic replica of a money transfer token. Thefirst facility F1 may securely initiate the transaction by securelysending the funds transfer request over the air. The fourth facility F4may validate the user and the request, such as by requesting, receiving,and validating the code. The funds transfer from the first facility F1may be to another facility that may be hosted by a different financialservice provider, bank, wallet service center, or transaction servicefacility. The fourth facility F4 may request (not shown) that thedifferent financial service provider complete the funds transfer througha particular settlement and/or acquisition network. The confirmation ofthe transaction may comprise an electronic replica of a transactionsummary statement, which may comprise a “PAID” stamp and/or receipt. Aspreviously described, the client facility may securely store and/orarchive the confirmation of the transaction, or a Web-based personalizedportal may securely store and/or archive the confirmation. In someembodiments, also as described above, a profile-driven value addedservice associated with the confirmation of the transaction may betransmitted to the user via the personalized portal. The recipient ofthe funds transfer, described above as “another facility”, may comprisean electronic facility 101 and may be able to use the funds transferredby the user of the first facility F1. For example, in a subsequenttransaction, the “another facility” may be the first facility F1 and mayparticipate in the subsequent transaction according to one of thetransactional methods of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 11, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may comprise the transmission of a money order. Thistransactional method may involve three facilities, the first facilityF1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, the fourth facility F4 may receive a request forfunds transfer from the first facility F1. Then, the fourth facility F4may send a request for a code to the first facility F1. Later, thefourth facility F4 may receive a code 800 from the first facility F1.The fourth facility F4 may then receive a request for funds transferfrom a second facility F2. Then, the fourth facility F4 may send arequest for a code to the second facility F2. Later, the fourth facilityF4 may receive a code 800 from the second facility F2. Finally, thefourth facility F4 may send an approval to the second facility F2. Atany time after receiving a code 800 but prior to sending the approval,the fourth facility F4 may determine the validity of the code 800.

This method may be a method for transmitting a money order or conductinga wire transfer. Both the request for funds transfer received from thefirst facility F1 and the request for funds transfer received from thesecond facility F2 may comprise a funds transfer request data structure1808. In this context, the reference to a source facility 1800 may be areference to first facility F1 and the reference to a destinationfacility 1802 may be a reference to second facility F2.

The approval may be an approval to release funds. The first facility F1may be a sender facility, which may be a merchant. In this context, thesecond facility F2 may be a destination facility, which may also be amerchant, and may comprise an electronic facility 101.

In embodiments, the fourth facility F4 may securely issue an electronicreplica of a money order, which may comprise necessary branding, images,and/or information required to complete the transaction. The request fora code that is sent to the first facility F1 may comprise the electronicreplica of a money transfer token. The first facility F1 may securelyinitiate the transaction by securely sending the funds transfer requestover the air. The fourth facility F4 may validate the user and therequest, such as by requesting, receiving, and validating the code. Thefunds transfer from the first facility F1 may be to another facilitythat may be hosted by a different financial service provider, bank,wallet service center, or transaction service facility. The fourthfacility F4 may request that the different financial service providercomplete the funds transfer through a particular settlement and/oracquisition network. The confirmation of the transaction may comprise anelectronic replica of a transaction summary statement, which maycomprise a “PAID” stamp and/or receipt. As previously described, theclient facility may securely store and/or archive the confirmation ofthe transaction, or a Web-based personalized portal may securely storeand/or archive the confirmation. In some embodiments, also as describedabove, a profile-driven value added service associated with theconfirmation of the transaction may be transmitted to the user via thepersonalized portal. The recipient of the funds transfer, describedabove as “another facility”, may comprise an electronic facility 101 andmay be able to use the funds transferred by the user of the firstfacility F1. For example, in a subsequent transaction, the “anotherfacility” may be the first facility F1 and may participate in thesubsequent transaction according to one of the transactional methods ofthe present invention.

It will be appreciated that transactions described herein, including thefinancial transactions described above, as well as health caretransactions, information transfers, and so on, may be compliant withstandards-based transaction protocols. For example, certain financialtransactions may be conducted in whole or in part using the XML-basedSWIFT protocol. Similarly, by law certain health care information mustbe handled in a manner compliant with the requirements of the HealthInsurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), which handlingmay be applied as a protocol to transactions described herein thatinvolve health care information among parties covered by HIPAA.

Referring now to FIG. 12, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may be a method for conducting a purchase, which may bean activation of a prepaid shopping card, a recharge of a prepaidshopping card, a top-up of a prepaid cell phone, or any othertransaction resulting in the transfer of money or credits into or out ofa debit facility associated with consumption. This transactional methodmay involve four facilities, the first facility F1, a second facilityF2, a third facility F3, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, the fourth facility F4 may receive a transactionrequest from the second facility F2. Then, the fourth facility F4 maysend a request for a code to the first facility F1. Later, the fourthfacility F4 may receive a code 800 from the first facility F1. Thefourth facility F4 may determine the validity of the code 800. Next, thefourth facility F4 may transmit a transaction request to the thirdfacility F3. Subsequently, the fourth facility F4 may receive atransaction confirmation from the third facility F3. Finally, the fourthfacility F4 may transmit a transaction authorization to the secondfacility F2.

The transaction request received from the second facility F2 may beassociated with the first facility F1 and the third facility F3. In thiscontext, the second facility F2 may be a merchant facility, the user ofthe first facility F1 may be a customer, and the third facility F3 maybe a supplier facility.

The second facility F2 or the third facility F3 may securely issue anelectronic replica of a prepaid airtime token directly to the clientfacility, which as has been mentioned may be the first facility F1. Thereplica may comprise branding, images, and/or information required tocomplete the transaction. The request for the code may comprise theelectronic replica. The user of the client facility may securely top-upand/or replenish an airtime account by selecting a preconfiguredtime/amount package, such as a 100-minute plan offered at $10.Alternatively, the user may specify a desired time/amount, such as bytouching a combination of numbers displayed on the LCD/touchpad. In anycase, the user may select a preferred mode of payment, such as a creditcard associated with the client facility. The fourth facility F4 mayvalidate the user such as by determining the validity of the code 800received from the first facility F1. Upon the completion of thetransaction, minutes or an amount may be credited to an accountassociated with the user. A telephone company, which may comprise thethird facility F3, may host this account. Moreover, the same minutes oramount may be debited from an account associated with the secondfacility F2. This account may be an account that the merchant facility(the second facility F2) has with the supplier facility/Telco (the thirdfacility F3). Any or all of the sending, receiving, or transmitting ofthis method may be secure. This transactional method may comprise thetransmission of an electronic replica of a transaction summarystatement, which, as in previously described transactional methods, maycomprise a “PAID” stamp and/or receipt. As previously described, theclient facility may securely store and/or archive the confirmation ofthe transaction, or a Web-based personalized portal may securely storeand/or archive the confirmation. In some embodiments, also as describedabove, a profile-driven value added service associated with theconfirmation of the transaction may be transmitted to the user via thepersonalized portal.

Referring now to FIG. 13, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may comprise the transmission of a coupon, loyalty card,or promotion to the electronic facility 101. This transactional methodmay involve two facilities, the first facility F1, which may withoutlimitation comprise the user's client facility, and the fourth facilityF4, which may without limitation comprise the merchant, serviceprovider, or Telco. The fourth facility F4 may transmit a coupon to thefirst facility F1. This transmission may or may not be secure. Thistransmission may be broadcast to all electronic facilities, to allelectronic facilities associated with a particular geographic region, toall electronic facilities that have stored a particular type of creditcard or have conducted a particular type of transaction. The coupon,loyalty card, or promotion may be an electronic replica of the same andmay comprise necessary branding, images, or information required toprocure relevant services from the merchant, service provider, or Telco.The first facility F1 may securely store and/or archive the coupon,loyalty card, or promotion. The first facility F1 may from time to timealert, such as with an audible alarm, the user based upon when anattribute of the coupon, loyalty card, or promotion matches a presetcriterion. The criterion may without limitation comprise a Boolean valueindicating a user preference to receive an alert when the time ofissuance of the coupon, loyalty card, or promotion matches the presenttime, a Boolean value indicating a user preference to receive an alertwhen the specified number of days prior to the expiration date of acoupon, loyalty card, or promotion matches the present day, a Booleanvalue indicating a user preference to receive an alert when theexpiration date of the coupon, loyalty card, or promotion matches thepresent day, and so forth. The user of the first facility F1 maysecurely redeem the coupon, loyalty card, or promotion that may bestored in the first facility F1 via a proximity medium, such as withoutlimitation IrDA, or an over the air medium, such as without limitationIEEE 802.16. The fourth facility F4 may securely issue an electronicreplica of a loyalty statement, such as a transaction summary, that maycomprise a “PAID” stamp and/or receipt, directly to the first facilityF1. The first facility F1 may securely store and/or archive, such as bywriting to a smart card, an electronic replica of a statement, such as atransaction summary. Alternatively, as described above, a Web-basedpersonalized portal may securely store and/or archive the statement. Insome embodiments, also as described above, a profile-driven value addedservice associated with the statement may be transmitted to the user viathe personalized portal.

Referring now to FIG. 14, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may comprise the redemption of a coupon. Thistransactional method may involve three facilities, the first facilityF1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, a fourth facility F4 (such as the facility of amerchant offering a coupon) may transmit a coupon to the first facilityF1 (such as the facility of a customer who wishes to have the coupon).Then, the fourth facility F4 may receive a message from the secondfacility F2 (such as a wallet service center), the message comprising anidentifier of or reference to the first facility F1 and informationassociated with the coupon, such as a unique identifier associated withthe coupon/user combination. The fourth facility F4 may then send arequest for a code (such as a security code, identifier, or password) tothe first facility F1, and the first facility F1 may return a suitablecode 800 to the fourth facility F4. The fourth facility F4 may determinethe validity of the code 800. Finally, a coupon redemption approval istransmitted by the fourth facility F4 to the second facility F2, atwhich point the second facility may redeem the coupon, such as byapplying it toward a transaction that is supported by the secondfacility F2 and that is executed by the user of the first facility F1.

In this context, the second facility F2 may be a merchant facility,which may comprise a facility for recognizing coupons, which may be oneof a barcode scanner, an RFID reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an IrDAfacility, a Bluetooth® facility, or any other wired wireless, optical,electro-magnetic, or other facility suitable for use in couponrecognition. The information associated with the coupon may be anidentifier, which may be a unique identifier.

Referring now to FIG. 15, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may comprise the purchase of a ticket by the user. Thistransactional method may involve three facilities, the first facilityF1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, the fourth facility F4 may establish a sessionwith a first facility F1. Then, the fourth facility F4 queries theinventory of the second facility F2. This query results in the fourthfacility F4 being privy to certain details of the inventory of thesecond facility F2. The fourth facility F4 transmits an inventory statusreport to a first facility F1. The inventory status report may comprisecertain details of the inventory of the second facility F2. The fourthfacility F4 then receives a purchase request from the first facility F1.The fourth facility F4 may act to effect this purchase. Finally, thefourth facility F4 may transmit a receipt to the first facility F1.

In this context, the first facility F1 may be a consumer facility andthe second facility F2 may be a supplier facility, which may be a ticketissuing facility. The method may further comprise the step of issuing aticket to the first facility F1. The purchase request may be a ticketorder. The inventory status report may comprise a ticket availabilityreport. The session may be a secure session.

In embodiments, the ticket issuing facility may securely issue theticket, which may comprise an electronic replica of a ticket. The ticketmay comprise branding, images, or information required to procureassociated services from the ticket issuing facility. The first facilityF1 may securely store, such as by writing to a smart card, the ticket.The first facility F1 may from time to tile alert, such as with anaudible alarm, the user based upon when an attribute of the ticketmatches a preset criterion. The criterion may without limitationcomprise a Boolean value indicating a user preference to receive analert when the time of issuance of the ticket matches the present time,a Boolean value indicating a user preference to receive an alert whenthe specified number of days prior to an event date of an eventassociated with the ticket, such as the date of a live performance towhich the ticket may allow admittance, matches the present day, aBoolean value indicating a user preference to receive an alert when theevent date of an event associated with the ticket matches the presentday, and so forth. The user may securely redeem the ticket that may bestored in the first facility F1 at a point of transaction, such as aturnstile at the entrance to the event, via a proximity medium or anover-the-air medium. The ticket issuing facility may securely issue atransaction summary statement, which may comprise a “PAID” stamp, and/ora receipt to the consumer facility. The first facility F1 may securelystore and/or archive, such as by writing to a smart card, thetransaction summary statement and/or receipt. Alternatively, asdescribed above, a Web-based personalized portal may securely storeand/or archive the transaction summary statement and/or receipt. In someembodiments, also as described above, a profile-driven value addedservice associated with the statement may be transmitted to the user viathe personalized portal.

Referring now to FIG. 16, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use an electronic facility 101to conduct a transaction with another transaction participant, whereinthe transaction may comprise the withdrawal of funds from an account.The transactional method may involve three facilities, the firstfacility F1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, the fourth facility F4 receives a request forwithdrawal from an account associated with the first facility F1. Thefourth facility F4 may then send a request for a code to the firstfacility F1. Later, the fourth facility F4 may receive a code 800 fromthe first facility F1. The fourth facility F4 may determine the validityof the code 800. The fourth facility F4 may effect a withdrawal of fundsfrom an account associated with the first facility F1. Then, the fourthfacility F4 may transmit to the second facility F2 an approval. Finally,the fourth facility F4 may transmit a confirmation to the first facilityF1.

The method may be a method for withdrawing money from an account. Theapproval may be an approval to accept funds that are associated with thefirst facility F1. The confirmation may be a confirmation of withdrawal.The request for withdrawal may comprise a funds transfer request datastructure 1808. In this context, the reference to a source facility 1800may be first facility F1 and the reference to a destination facility1802 may be a reference to second facility F2. The second facility F2may be a merchant facility.

Referring now to FIG. 17, high-level steps are presented for atransactional method in which a user can use electronic facility 101 toconduct a transaction with another transaction participant, wherein thetransaction may comprise a deposit of funds into an account. Thetransactional method may involve three facilities, the first facilityF1, a second facility F2, and the fourth facility F4. In thistransactional method, the fourth facility F4 receives a request todeposit funds into an account associated with the first facility F1. Thefourth facility F4 may then send a request for a code to the secondfacility F2 Later, the fourth facility F4 may receive a code 800 fromthe second facility F2. The fourth facility F4 determine the validity ofthe code 800. Next, the fourth facility may effect a deposit of fundsassociated with the second facility F2 into an account associated withthe first facility F1. Finally, the fourth facility F4 may send aconfirmation of the deposit to both the first facility F1 and the secondfacility F2.

The request to deposit funds may comprise a funds transfer request datastructure 1808. In this context, the reference to a source facility 1800may be a reference to second facility F2 and the reference to adestination facility 1802 may be a reference to first facility F1. Inthis context, the second facility F2 may be a merchant facility. Thismethod may be a method for depositing money into an account.

Generally, the transactional methods herein described, in particularthose described above in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17, and 18, may be embodied as a transactional service such as andwithout limitation, a driver's license service, a lottery service, avoting service, a health service, a travel service, an infotainmentservice, a personal information management service, and so forth.

FIG. 23 shows one potential exemplary embodiment of a ticketing servicedeployed using the systems described herein. A ticketing service systemmay include a universal electronic transaction facility (“UET”)including a customer user interface, a central service facility, aticket merchant facility including a merchant user interface, a usercomputer, and a plurality of ticket providers. As illustrated in FIG.23, the system may be used to conduct a ticket purchase including arequest for payment from the merchant and a payment authorization by thecustomer. However, it will be readily appreciated that the system may beused for any ticket-related service including related financialtransactions, reservation requests, purchases, reservation changes,travel itinerary tracking and revisions, scheduling, and so forth. Allsuch related transactions and transaction types are intended to fallwithin the scope of ticketing services as described herein.

The UET may contain data for a ticketing service. For example, the UETmay store travel preferences related to reservation requests, such as apreference for non-stop versus least expensive tickets, mealpreferences, seating preferences, or a default request for a rental caror limousine at a travel destination. As another example, the UET maystore money in digital form, or credit card account and authorizationfor payment-based ticketing transactions. As another example, the UETmay store tickets and or reservations for a user of the UET.

The customer user interface may be rendered on or by the UET. In theexample of the figure, the UET may use financial information to respondto the request for payment from the ticket merchant facility. In generalthe customer user interface may include any features associated with aninterface, such as text fields, buttons, drop down lists, check boxes,and the like, for navigation and use by the user. The user interface maybe dynamically generated in response to information received from theticket merchant facility, such as a drop down list of available flights,or seats available at an event.

The ticket merchant facility may operate at a point of sale, such asentry into a concert, or may be near a point of sale, such as aninformation or ticket counter at an airport, or may be a stand aloneticket-ordering location. The ticket merchant facility may be associatedwith a specific venue or business, or may be an agent or reseller for aplurality of ticket providers. Where other ticket providers issuetickets, these ticket providers may communicate with the ticket merchantfacility to provide scheduling and availability information, and toprovide back-end processing and ticket issuance for tickets that havebeen purchased.

In the example of the figure, the ticket merchant facility may provide auser interface to an employee of the merchant (or other authorizeduser), who may operate the user interface to conduct a ticketingtransaction with the user of the UET. The merchant user interface may berendered on a device that includes the ticket merchant facility, or arelated or peripheral device. In one embodiment, the merchant userinterface is rendered on a desktop computer, and may be, for example, abrowser-based user interface. In general the merchant user interface mayinclude any features associated with an interface, such as text fields,buttons, drop down lists, check boxes, and the like, for navigation anduse by the employee. In an embodiment, where the UET is running on acellular telephone, the system and method may further compriseestablishing an audio communication between the user's cellulartelephone and the merchant's telephone to facilitate the transactionbetween the merchant employee and the user.

The central service facility coordinates transactions between the UETand the ticket merchant facility as described generally above, and mayprovide or support any related authentication, authorization, security,financial, or other functions associated with the ticketing transaction.

The user computer may optionally participate in the ticketing service,and may be used by the user to program or provide data to the UET. Theuser computer may also independently connect through a network such asthe PSTN or the Internet to the central service facility, the ticketmerchant facility, and/or the ticket providers to conduct network-basedtransactions. This includes transactions relating to the ticketingservice such as, for example, adding cash or credit pre-approval to theUET for anticipated ticket purchases. Tickets may also be purchasedonline, and then transferred to the UET for subsequent use by thecustomer at a related venue.

In general, the ticketing service described herein may be used fortickets of any form, such as tickets for traveling on a train, bus,airplane, boat, or other transportation medium, as well as tickets to amovie, a theater performance, a sporting event, a concert, a trade show,a conference, and so on.

FIG. 24 depicts a ticketing service environment including a number ofuniversal electronic transaction facilities. The system may include aplurality of universal electronic transaction facilities (“UETs”) and aticket counter including at least one ticket merchant facility. Each UETmay be carried, for example, by an individual holding and/or wishing toacquire one or more tickets or reservations.

This system may be employed for a number of ticketing services. In oneembodiment, the ticketing service is an airline ticketing service. Inthis embodiment, the UET and ticket merchant facility may cooperate torender related services, such as check-in, baggage checking, andpassenger seating. The UET may also coordinate authentication of thecustomer's identity at various times (i.e., during check-in and/orboarding). The customer's ticket may be resident on the UET, and maytransferred to an airline at some time during the travel activity, suchas while boarding the airplane. Or the ticket may be retrieved by theairline at check-in, and replaced by a boarding pass identifying aparticular seat on a particular flight at a particular gate in anairport. The UET may also be used to provide payment for ticketingservices, including travel tickets as well as change fees, seatupgrades, and so on. Through the customer user interface, a traveler maymake additional travel plans, such as reservations for a rental car, ahotel, and/or a restaurant, either in communication with the ticketmerchant facility, or a kiosk or other location including anothermerchant facility.

More generally, a travel service may include the ticketing servicedescribed above and/or a number of related travel services. For example,flight status, destination weather conditions, departure times, and gateinformation may be wirelessly communicated to a customer's UET when aticket is purchased, or when a customer checks in for a flight, and maybe periodically updated when the UET has wireless access to the ticketmerchant facility or a related network, such as a wireless local areanetwork offered throughout an airport, or at specific locations withinan airport. As another example, reservations for cars, hotel rooms,meals, entertainment may be arranged while a customer is checking in, ormay be entered by a customer into the customer's UET and thentransmitted or negotiated when wireless service is available. Travelingcompanions such as a family, a group of friends on a vacation, or agroup of professionals on a business trip, may also maintain a buddylist of co-travels for which travel, location, itinerary, and statusinformation are shared. This information may also be shared among agroup of UETs in a peer network, or when a wireless network connectionis available to one or more of the UETs. Buddy-list information such astravel information may also, or instead, be maintained at the centralservice facility (not shown) for access by buddy list members.

In another embodiment, the ticketing service may be a sports eventticketing service. In this embodiment, a user may reserve one or moreseats to a sporting event at a kiosk, or at the ticket counter of anassociated venue. At the ticket counter, the UET may also be employed toconvert a reservation, which may be stored on the UET or uniquelyidentified by data on the UET, into a ticket for entry into the event.

In a peer-to-peer embodiment of a ticketing service system, a number ofUETs of individual customers may cooperate in a ticket acquisition. Forexample, one customer may purchase a group of tickets, which may then bedistributed to individual UETs through a peer network. Similarly, acustomer at one UET may distribute reservations and/or cash to otherUETs through a peer network, enabling each customer to convert thereservation and cash into a ticket independently at the ticket counteror other location.

While the ticket counter may be a conventional ticket counter includinga ticket window with a teller or other employee, the ticket counter mayalso, or instead, include a virtual ticket counter. This may be adesignated and/or market space within an entrance area of a venue, ormay be embedded into entranceways so that ticketing and/or check-inevents occur automatically when UET holders cross a physical thresholdduring passage into the venue. This may, for example, advantageouslydecrease bottlenecks at certain entry points into venues such as sportsstadiums or concert halls.

In an embodiment, a user may be signed up for a loyalty reward programfor an airline, rail line, hotel/motel, store, business, or otherbusiness that may provide rewards for loyalty to their company.Referring to FIG. 25, an embodiment of an actual issuance of a loyaltycard to a user is shown. For example, a user may receive an actualloyalty reward card 2502 from a business. In an embodiment, the loyaltyreward card may be a facsimile of the reward card that may containinformation such as amount of the reward, the effective date, when thereward can be redeemed, the ending date of the reward, the name of theperson, or other information relevant to the loyalty card. In anembodiment, the user may then be able to store the loyalty card 2504 ona client facility. For example, the client facility may be a cell phone,PDA, Pocket PC, home computer, or other device capable of data storage.The client facility may be able to store at least one loyalty card for abusiness and may be able to store loyalty cards for at least onebusiness.

In embodiments, the user may be able to select from the stored loyaltycards to determine which loyalty card to redeem. For example, after auser selects a loyalty card to be used, the user may transmit theredemption of the loyalty card 2508. The user may be able to redeem theloyalty card from a remote location, as an example from home, or whileat the location of the business. If at the business location, the usermay be able to use a portable computing device to transmit theredemption 2508 to the business. In embodiments the user may also beable to check for new loyalty rewards upon entering a business locationthat the user has a loyalty account.

In embodiments, after a user redeems loyalty rewards the business maytransmit a receipt of the loyalty reward 2510 back to the user's client.For example, the loyalty reward receipt may be an actual facsimile of areceipt with an acknowledgement of redemption such as “paid,”“redeemed,” or other acknowledgement.

In embodiments, the user may be able to store the loyalty reward receipt2512 on the user client. For example, the user may be able to store thereceipt in an archive with other received receipts. The user may be ableto store the receipts in at least one category that may contain loyaltyreward receipts from similar businesses or the categories may be bybusiness.

In an embodiment of the communication between the user client 2514, themain service facility 142, and the business client 2518 is shown. In anembodiment, either the user client 2514 or the business client may beginthe exchange of information on loyalty rewards. For example, a userclient 2514 may request a loyalty reward update from certain or allbusinesses that may be available. A business client may broadcast to aselect number or all users of its loyalty rewards an update to theloyalty rewards.

In an embodiment, a user client 2514 may start a transaction by choosinga loyalty reward to redeem and transmitting the redemption 2520. Forexample, the request may be sent 2520 to the main service facility 142.The main service facility 142 may match the redemption request to abusiness client and transmit the request 2522 to the business client2518. The business client 2518 may verify the validity of theredemption, credit the loyalty reward against the users account, andsend a receipt 2522 to the main service facility 142. The main servicefacility 142 may match the receipt to a user client 2514 and forward thereceipt 2520 to the user client 2514. The user client 2514 may thenarchive the receipt.

Referring to FIG. 26, an embodiment of a portable user device 2602 forviewing a user interface 2612 is shown. For example, a portable computerdevice may be a cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, tablet PC, or other similarcomputer device. In embodiments, the user interface 2612 may contain amenu 2604, buttons 2610, a window for selecting actions 2608, or othermethod of navigating the user interface 2612. In embodiments, the menu2604 may contain categories of actions. For example, the menu maycontain file, search, retrieve, quit, or other option associated withmanaging loyalty card rewards. In embodiments, the user interface mayalso have buttons 2610 that may be shortcuts to options available on themenu 2604.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 2612 option, either throughthe menu 2604 or buttons 2610, may open a window with related options.For example, a user may select an option to view the categories ofloyalty rewards available on the client. A listing may be presented onin the window 2608. The listing displayed in the window 2608 may beselected to perform additional actions.

In an embodiment of a business user interface 2614 is shown. Inembodiments, the user interface 2614 may contain a menu 2618, a windowfor selecting actions 2620, or other method of navigating the userinterface 2614. In embodiments, the menu 2618 may contain categories ofactions. For example, the menu may contain file, search, retrieve, quit,or other option associated with managing loyalty card rewards.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 2614 option through the menu2618 may open a window with related options. For example, a business mayselect an option to view the categories of loyalty reward accountsavailable on the client. A listing may be presented on in the window2620. The listing displayed in the window 2620 may be selected toperform additional actions.

In an embodiment, a user may download music, video, movies, games, orother infotainment to a user client for entertainment. Referring to FIG.27, a flow chart shows an embodiment of the process to download theinfotainment. For example, a user may receive downloaded music, video,movies, games, or other infotainment to a user client computer. The usermay receive the actual infotainment file 2702 to reside on the userclient computer. The user may store the actual infotainment 2704 on theuser client computer, the infotainment may also contain additionalinformation such the viewing/playing protocol, gaming databases, playlist, movie chapter lists, or other information that would be useful forthe playing of the infotainment. The user client may also receive theinfotainment license for the downloaded infotainment.

In an embodiment, once the user receives the infotainment the userclient computer may transmit payment for the infotainment 2708. Forexample, the payment may be taken from a predetermined bank account orcharged to a credit/debit card. In an embodiment, the user may be ableto receive infotainment and make payment either remotely using a homecomputer or at a local business where the transaction may take placewithin the business. For example, a user could use a portable computingdevice to purchase and download music within a retail music store. Theuser may select the desired music, perform an electronic payment fromthe user client to the merchant client, and then download the music tothe user client.

In embodiments, after a user transmits payment, the business maytransmit a receipt of the payment 2710 back to the user client. Forexample, the infotainment payment receipt may be an actual facsimile ofa receipt with an acknowledgement of payment such as “paid”, “redeemed”,or other acknowledgement of receiving payment.

In embodiments, the user may be able to store the infotainment paymentreceipt 2712 on the user client. For example, the user may be able tostore the receipt in an archive with other received receipts. The usermay be able to store the receipts in at least one category that maycontain infotainment receipts from similar sources/types or thecategories may be viewed by sources/types.

In an embodiment of the communication between the user client 2714, themain service facility 142, and the business client 2718 is shown. In anembodiment, either the user client 2714 or the business client may beginthe exchange of information on infotainment. For example, a user client2714 may request a download of music from a music store or service. Amusic store or service client may broadcast to a select number or allusers of its latest available downloads.

In an embodiment, the user client 2714 may request an infotainmentdownload from an infotainment merchant. In an embodiment, the userclient may transmit the download request 2720 to the main servicefacility 142. The main service facility 142 may match the downloadrequest to an infotainment merchant and transmit the request for adownload 2722.

In an embodiment, an infotainment merchant client 2718 may receive thedownload request and may transmit back 2718 to the main service facility142 the payment request for the download. The main service facility 142may match the payment request back to the user client 2714 and transmitthe payment request 2720.

In an embodiment, the user client 2714 may authorize a method ofpayment, for example a bank account, credit card, debit card, or otherelectronic payment method. The payment may be transmitted 2720 to themain service facility 142. The main service facility 142 may match upthe payment to the infotainment merchant client 2718 and transmit 2722the payment.

In an embodiment, once the merchant client 2718 receives theinfotainment payment the merchant client may transmit the download fileand a payment receipt 2722 to the main service facility 142. The mainservice facility 142 may match the download and receipt to the userclient 2714 and transmit the download and receipt 2720 to the userclient 2714. The user client 2714 may store the receipt.

Referring to FIG. 28, an embodiment of a portable user device 2802 forviewing a user interface 2812 is shown. For example, a portable computerdevice may be a cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, tablet PC, or other similarcomputer device. In embodiments, the user interface 2812 may contain amenu 2804, buttons 2810, a window for selecting actions 2808, or othermethod of navigating the user interface 2812. In embodiments, the menu2804 may contain categories of actions. For example, the menu maycontain file, search, retrieve, quit, or other option associated withmanaging loyalty card rewards. In embodiments, the user interface mayalso have buttons 2810 that may be shortcuts to options available on themenu 2804.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 2812 option, either throughthe menu 2804 or buttons 2810, may open a window with related options.For example, a user may select an option to view the categories of typesof infotainment available on the client. A listing may be presented inthe window 2808. The listing displayed in the window 2808 may beselected to perform additional actions, for example viewing a list ofthe infotainment in each category.

In an embodiment of a business user interface 2814 is shown. Inembodiments, the user interface 2814 may contain a menu 2818, a windowfor selecting actions 2820, or other method of navigating the userinterface 2814. In embodiments, the menu 2818 may contain categories ofactions. For example, the menu may contain file, search, retrieve, quit,or other option associated with managing infotainment files.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 2814 option through the menu2818 may open a window with related options. For example, a business mayselect an option to view the categories of purchaser accounts availableon the client. A listing may be presented on in the window 2820. Thelisting displayed in the window 2820 may be selected to performadditional actions.

Generally speaking, nearly every household pays several bills eachmonth. Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems andmethods for receiving and or paying bills received on a periodic basis,such as a mortgage, rent, electric, gas, oil, phone, cell phone, cable,dish, dsl, internet provider, tuition, medical, dental, taxes, and orother periodically occurring bills. Embodiments of the present inventionrelate to receiving and paying bills on a non-periodic basis for thepurchase of goods and services, such as for groceries, gas, repairs,improvements, tuition, cars, tickets, homes, airline tickets,transportation, and other non-recurring or non-periodic bills. Inembodiments, the bill pay systems and methods may include bill issuersthat traditionally print bills, mail them to customers, and then collectand process physical paper checks for every billing period. Inembodiments, online or Internet based Electronic Bill Presentment andPayment (EBPP) services may be employed as part of the overall processaccording to principles of the present invention; however, the systemsand methods may eliminate many of the cumbersome aspects generallyencountered when using such systems.

An aspect of the present invention describes a unique solution to theproblems associated with paying bills. In embodiments, a bill issuer mayelectronically, wirelessly, and securely issue a bill or invoicedirectly to the electronic facility 101, which may be associated with auser/customer of the bill issuer. In embodiments, a customer may beprovided with the ability to pay a bill in real-time and or directlythrough the client facility. In embodiments, the user may be presentedwith the additional flexibility of using any one of a plurality ofpre-registered bank, credit card, or other transactional accounts. Inembodiments, the transactional account may include tokens (personalizedor non-personalized), to settle the bill or invoice. In embodiments, thebill issuer may use the system and methods described herein to collect abill electronically and or in real-time through a trusted retailestablishment. This may result in increased convenience along with asignificant reduction in cost and settlement periods.

Generally, the present invention may provide for issuing, securely andelectronically, a token (personalized or not) with all necessary images,branding, and/or data for conducting a transaction, directly to theuser, through a wired and/or wireless medium, to an electronic facility101. The token may without limitation be associated with a service orapplication such as a credit card, a bank account, a frequent flyercard, a stored value card, a loyalty card, an insurance card, a driver'slicense, a bill, or a coupon. The electronic facility 101 may render atoken, securely and electronically, the token so that it is visible tothe user. This rendering may comprise branding and other images alongwith necessary data for conducting a transaction. The token may beprocured from one of a plurality of domains, through any wired orwireless medium, and may be used during the initiation or completion ofa transaction. The token may be encrypted, such as with 3DES or AES,when issued and/or when stored in the electronic facility 101. Thetoken, the service, or the application may or may not be personalizedand may be provisioned with a high level of throughput, efficiency, orfault tolerance to the client facility. This personalization orprovisioning may be conducted in whole or in part may an expert systemassociated with the client facility that may determine the appropriatepersonalization or provisioning based upon observation and/or analysisof the user's behavior, usage patters, transaction history, otherexternal inputs such as time-of-day, and so forth.

FIG. 30 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of atransaction 3002, such as a bill presentment and payment transaction,according to the principles of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the electronic transaction facility 101 may be associatedwith a client facility as described herein. The electronic transactionfacility 101 may also be associated with a merchant facility, a retailfacility, a public utility billing facility, a service facility, or anyother facility 3004 involved in a transaction with the user of theelectronic transaction facility 101. The electronic transaction facility101 may also be associated with a main service facility 142 as describedherein. In embodiments, the associations between the electronictransaction facility 101 and the other facilities may involve wired andor wireless communications and the communications may be directed atdownloading bill information and or uploading payment information.

FIG. 30 also depicts the high-level steps of a bill payment transaction3008 according to the present invention. In the first step 3110, anactual bill is issued from a bill issuing facility to the electronictransaction facility 101. For example, the bill may be a request forpayment, which may be issued by service provider, product provider orother establishment for which a debt may be due. In embodiments, a bankmay be used as an intermediary to facilitate the issuance or collectionof the bill. In embodiments, the actual bill, or representation thereof,may be encoded using a three-dimensional authentication scheme,described elsewhere herein, such as authenticating the transaction basedon the user, the device and the domain. In the second step 3012, uponreceipt of the actual bill, or representation thereof, the electronicfacility 101 may store a replica of the actual bill. The replica, incertain embodiments, may comprise a bit-for-bit copy of the data thatcomprises the actual bill.

In the third step 3014, the user may transmit a payment in response to areceived bill and the payment may be made at the point of purchase. Insome cases, the point of purchase may be in the virtual world, such aswith an on-line retail Web site, public utility, such as an electriccompany, bank, web service provider or other provider through a computernetwork. In other cases, the point of purchase may be in the real world,such as at a local convenience store, department store, gas station,grocery store, mall, food market, food service provider, restaurant, orother provider of goods and or services in the real world. Inembodiments, the user may pay such bills, whether on-line, in the realworld or otherwise, through his electronic transaction facility 101.

In the fourth step 3018, an acknowledgement, receipt, or otherindication of the transaction may be issued by bill issuing company inresponse to an acceptable payment. This acknowledgement may include areceipt, a confirmation, an updated account statement, or otherindication of the acceptable outcome of the transaction.

In the fifth step 3020, the original bill and/or the acknowledgement,either of which may include notable data 148, may be archived. As isdescribed elsewhere herein, the main service facility software may becapable of archiving notable data 148. Also as is described elsewhereherein, the electronic facility 101 may be capable of archiving theoriginal bill and/or acknowledgement. In this step, the original billand/or acknowledgement may be archived by the main service facilitysoftware and or the electronic facility 101.

FIG. 30 also illustrates, a user interface 3022 that may be presented onthe client facility. The user interface 3022 may include a messageindicative of an account; a message indicative of an amount due; anoperative element such as a Pay Now button; an option providing for thearchival of the transaction and or other information or action buttons.In embodiments, the transaction is initiated when the user affects theoperative element in a predefined way, such as by selecting the buttonwith a finger press on the LCD and touch screen display 100. Inembodiments, the user interface may be associated with an application onthe client facility. The user interface and/or the application may beconfigured based upon a preference of the user, which may be stored inor associated with the client facility. The storage or association ofthe preference of the user may be permanent, in the case of anelectronic transaction facility 101 generally associated with aparticular user, or temporary, such as in the case of client facilitythat is generally available for public use but that, at a given instant,may be dedicated to the personal use of one user. The user may manuallyenter the preference, such as by selecting the preference with a fingerpress on the LCD and touch screen display 100. Alternatively, an expertsystem associated with the client facility may discern the preferencebased upon observation and/or analysis of the user's behavior, usagepatters, transaction history, other external inputs such as time-of-day,and so forth.

In embodiments, a value-added service may be provided and associatedwith the transaction, such as overdraft protection, bill alerts,customer feedback and the like. For example, the electronic transactionfacility 101 may be used to engage in a transaction with the secondfacility 3004 for which the electronic transaction facility 101 does nothave sufficient funds. Under usual circumstances, this may result in arejected transaction. With overdraft protection, however, the fourthfacility 142 may clear the transaction and charge an account associatedwith an overdraft protection facility, as opposed to deducting an amountfrom the funds associated with the first facility 101, which would bethe normal course of action.

Generally, a customer may be anybody that utilizes a fourth facility142. The customer may utilize the fourth facility 142 via a userinterface, which may comprise a customer-side Web-based interface, aninteraction between an autonomous agent associated with the customer andthe fourth facility 142, a scripted interaction between the secondfacility 3004 and the fourth facility 142, a scheduled interactionbetween the second facility 3004 and the fourth facility 142, anevent-driven interaction between the second facility 3004 and the fourthfacility 142, or any other practicable interaction between the secondfacility 3004 and the fourth facility 142.

In general people make several transaction between one another eachmonth. In embodiments, systems and methods are presented that improveperson to person transactions. In embodiments, the transactions mayinclude economic transactions and relate to payment of rent, householdutility bills like electricity, gas, cable and telephone, repaying afriend who put a restaurant bill entirely on a credit card, for example.In embodiments, the transactions may be non-economic in nature, such asshowing and or sending another person a government-issued identificationcard, health insurance card, atm card, credit card (e.g. foridentification), for example. In embodiments, the transaction iscompleted through the exchange of a physical object, for example andwithout limitation, a personal check (such as for rent); cash at a laterdate (such as for later paying back a friend for a restaurant meal); andhanding a driver's license to a bartender (such as for allowing thebartender to check the age of the person associated with the driver'slicense).

In embodiments, a first person may directly, electronically, wirelessly,and or securely conduct a transaction with a second person. Inembodiments, the transaction may involve direct communication from afirst electronic facility 101, which may be associated with the firstperson, to a second electronic facility 101, which may be associatedwith the other person. Embodiments, may allow the second person toaccept in real-time or quasi-real-time, directly through the secondelectronic facility 101, an object of the transaction, such as forexample, money or information associated with the first person. Inembodiments, the second person may use the systems and methods describedherein to collect the object of the transaction in real-time through atrusted public digital facility. This may result in increasedconvenience and a significant reduction in inefficiency.

FIG. 31 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of atransaction according to the principles of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, a P2P transaction is presented. Each of the elementsmay correspond to the elements of FIG. 9, described elsewhere herein.The first facility F1 may comprise the first electronic facility 101 andmay be associated with the first person. The second facility F2 maycomprise the second electronic facility 101. F4 may comprise the mainservice facility 142.

FIG. 31 depicts the high-level steps of a transaction flow diagram 3102according to the principles of the present invention. In the first step3104, an actual transaction request is issued. For example and withoutlimitation, the actual transaction request may be a request foracceptance of cash offered from the first person to the second person, arequest for acceptance of information offered from the first person tothe second person, and so forth. The actual transaction request may beencoded using a three-dimensional authentication scheme, describedelsewhere herein.

In the second step 3108, upon receipt of the actual transaction requestthe second electronic facility 101 may store a replica of the actualtransaction request. This replica, in some embodiments, may comprise abit-for-bit copy of the data that comprises the actual transactionrequest.

In the third step 3110, the second person may accept the object of thetransaction at the point of transaction. In some cases, the point oftransaction may be in the virtual world, such as electronically overlong distances. In other cases, the point of transaction may be in thereal world, such as the first person being in proximity of the secondperson and “beaming” the actual transaction request to the secondperson, such as and without limitation via IrDA or other means describedelsewhere herein. In any case, either person may have access to a clientfacility. Either person's interaction with the client facility mayaffect the first facility F1 and/or the second facility F2 to engage intransactional steps, which may involve the fourth facility F4 and maycomprise the transactional steps detailed in the description of FIG. 9.

In the fourth step 3112, an indicator of the transaction may be issuedby the fourth facility F4 to the first facility F1 and/or the secondfacility F2, such as the confirmation in FIG. 9. This confirmation maycomprise a receipt, an acknowledgement, an updated account statement, orany other indication of the outcome of the transaction.

In the fifth step 3114, the replica and/or the confirmation, either ofwhich may comprise notable data 148, may be archived. As is describedelsewhere herein, the main service facility software may be capable ofarchiving notable data 148. Also as is described elsewhere herein, theelectronic facility 101 may be capable of archiving the replica and/oracknowledgement. In this step, the replica and/or acknowledgement may bearchived by the main service facility software, the first electronicfacility 101, and/or the second electronic facility 101.

FIG. 31 also illustrates a user interface 3118 according to theprinciples of the present invention. The user interface 3118 that ispresented here is for the purposes of example, not limitation. The userinterface 3118 may include a message indicative of an intendedrecipient; a message indicative of an amount to be transferred from thesender (such as the first person) to the recipient (such as the secondperson); an operative element such as a “Transfer Now” button; an optionproviding for the archival of the transaction and or other featuresrelevant to the p2p transaction. In embodiments, the transaction isinitiated when the first person affects the operative element in apredefined way, such as by selecting the button with a finger press onthe LCD and touch screen display 100.

In embodiments, an additional value-added service may be provided, suchas an overdraft protection associated with the transaction. For example,the first facility F1 may be used to engage in a transaction with thesecond facility F2 for which the first facility F1 does not havesufficient funds associated with it. Under usual circumstances, this mayresult in a rejected transaction. With overdraft protection, however,the fourth facility F4 may clear the transaction and charge an accountassociated with an overdraft protection facility, as opposed todeducting an amount from the funds associated with the first facilityF1, which would be the normal course of action.

In embodiments, a customer may be any person that utilizes the fourthfacility F4. The customer may utilize the fourth facility F4 via a userinterface, which may comprise a customer-side Web-based interface, aninteraction between an autonomous agent associated with the customer andthe fourth facility F4, a scripted interaction between the secondfacility F2 and the fourth facility F4, a scheduled interaction betweenthe second facility F2 and the fourth facility F4, an event-driveninteraction between the second facility F2 and the fourth facility F4,or any other practicable interaction between the second facility F2 andthe fourth facility F4.

Many consumers utilize prepaid facilities, for example and withoutlimitation a prepaid cellular telephone. These facilities, in manyembodiments allow for what is commonly known as “top up”, which is theaddition of funds to a prepaid facility. This is convenient as prepaidfacilities eventually become depleted over time and/or with use.

This invention describes a unique solution, whereby a consumer maydirectly, electronically, wirelessly, and securely conduct a top uptransaction via a merchant facility and with a supplier facility,directly from a first electronic facility 101. The unique solution alsoallows the merchant facility to act in real-time as a retail agent ofthe supplier facility. This may result in increased convenience andreduced transactional cost.

FIG. 32 depicts a high-level block diagram of one aspect of atransaction 3208, such as a top up transaction, according to theprinciples of the present invention. Each of the elements may correspondto the elements of FIG. 12, described elsewhere herein. The firstfacility F1 may comprise the electronic facility 101 and may beassociated with the consumer. The second facility F2 may comprise thesupplier facility, such as a cellular telephone service providerfacility. F3 may comprise a merchant facility. F4 may comprise the mainservice facility 142.

FIG. 32 also depicts the high-level steps of a transaction 3202according to the principles of the present invention. In the first step3210, an actual transaction request is issued. For example and withoutlimitation, the actual transaction request may be a request for a top uptransaction issued from the merchant facility (presumably at the behestof the consumer) to the main service facility 142. The actualtransaction request may be forwarded, altered or unaltered, by the mainservice facility 142 to the supplier facility and/or the electronicfacility 101. The actual transaction request may be encoded using athree-dimensional authentication scheme, described elsewhere herein.

In the second step 3212, upon receipt of the actual transaction requestthe main service facility 142, the supplier facility, and or theelectronic facility 101 may store a replica of the actual transactionrequest. The replica, in some embodiments, may comprise a bit-for-bitcopy of the data that comprises the actual transaction request.

In the third step 3214, the funds may be transferred, at the point oftransaction, from an account associated with the consumer to an accountassociated with the electronic facility 101. In embodiments, the pointof transaction may be in the virtual world, such as a top up via a Website. In embodiments, the point of transaction may be in the real world,such as the first person being on the merchant's premises. Inembodiments, the consumer may have access to a client facility. Theconsumer's interaction with the client facility may affect the secondfacility F2 to initiate transactional steps associate with a top uptransaction, which may involve the fourth facility F4, may involve thesecond facility F2 and the third facility F3, and may comprise thetransactional steps detailed in the description of FIG. 12.

In the fourth step 3218, an indicator of the transaction may be issuedby the fourth facility F4 to the second facility F2 and/or the thirdfacility F3, such as the transaction confirmation and/or theauthorization in FIG. 12. The confirmation and/or authorization maycomprise a receipt, an acknowledgement, an updated account statement, orany other indication of the outcome of the transaction.

In the fifth step 3220, the replica and/or the confirmation and/orauthorization, any of which may comprise notable data 148, may bearchived. As is described elsewhere herein, the main service facilitysoftware may be capable of archiving notable data 148. Also as isdescribed elsewhere herein, the electronic facility 101 may be capableof archiving the replica. In this step, the replica and/or confirmationand/or acknowledgement may be archived by the main service facilitysoftware, the merchant facility, and/or the supplier facility.

FIG. 32 also represents a user interface 3204 according to theprinciples of the present invention. In embodiments, the user interface3204 may be presented on the client facility. The user interface that ispresented here is for the purposes of example, not limitation. The userinterface may include a message indicative of an pending transaction,such as a pending top up; a message indicative of pending magnitude ofthe top up; an operative element such as a Top Up Now button; an optionproviding for the archival of the transaction and or other informationrelating to the transaction. In embodiments, the transaction may beinitiated by the merchant at the behest of the consumer. In embodiments,the transaction may be completed after consumer interacts with theoperative element in a predefined way, such as by selecting the buttonwith a finger press on the LCD and touch screen display 100.

In embodiments, an additional value-added service may be provided, suchas an overdraft protection associated with the transaction. For example,the first facility F1 may be used to engage in a transaction with thesecond facility F2 for which the first facility F1 does not havesufficient funds associated with it. Under usual circumstances, this mayresult in a rejected transaction. With overdraft protection, however,the fourth facility F4 may clear the transaction and charge an accountassociated with an overdraft protection facility, as opposed todeducting an amount from the funds associated with the first facilityF1, which would be the normal course of action.

In embodiments, a customer may be any person that utilizes the fourthfacility F4. The customer may utilize the fourth facility F4 via a userinterface, which may comprise a customer-side Web-based interface, aninteraction between an autonomous agent associated with the customer andthe fourth facility F4, a scripted interaction between the secondfacility F2 and the fourth facility F4, a scheduled interaction betweenthe second facility F2 and the fourth facility F4, an event-driveninteraction between the second facility F2 and the fourth facility F4,or any other practicable interaction between the second facility F2 andthe fourth facility F4. In embodiments, the interaction between thethird facility F3 and the fourth facility F4 may be manual or automatedand may be event-driven, such as being initiated by the event of theconsumer requesting that a merchant initiate a top up transaction.

An aspect of the present invention relates to providing heath careservices, products, identifications, medical records and othermaterials, products and services through electronic transactionfacilities. In embodiments, the transactions may be economic in natureand or non-economic in nature.

FIG. 33 illustrates a medical transaction process 3322 according to theprinciples of the present invention. In embodiments, the processinvolves the issuance of a health care related record to an electronictransaction facility 3302. In embodiments, the electronic transactionfacility may be an electronic transaction facility as described herein.Following the transmission of the medical record to the electronictransaction facility, the record may be stored in memory associated withthe electronic transaction facility 3304. In embodiments, the record maythen be transmitted to another electronic transaction facility 3308. Inembodiments, a receipt of the transaction(s) may be communicated back tothe electronic transaction facility. FIG. 33 also illustrates a medicaltransaction 3324. In embodiments, the electronic transaction facility101 may be used to retrieve and or send a medical record to a medicalfacility 3314. The medical facility 3314 may be associated with acomputer, computer network or other such facility used for the storageof such medical records.

In embodiments, a user of an electronic transaction facility may havepersonal medical records from a health care provider from whom the userreceives medical care stored in an electronic format. For example, auser may receive an electronic medical record from a physician's office,hospital or other medical facility. In embodiments, the electronicmedical record may be an electronic facsimile of medical record storedat the physician's office that may contain information such as thepatient's address, phone number, email address, emergency contactinformation, primary care physician, age, height, weight, blood type,medical conditions (e.g., disease, blood pressure, cholesterol levels),currently prescribed medications, allergies, previous surgeries,previous health care providers, current health insurance provider andpolicy number, and or other information relevant to the user's medicalhistory or and treatment. In embodiments, the user may then be able tostore the electronic medical record on a client facility. For example,the client facility may be a cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, home computer,or other device capable of data storage. The client facility may be ableto store electronic medical records from one health care provider andmay be able to store the electronic medical records for at least onehealth care provider. In embodiments, the issuer of the medicalinformation may issue a receipt of the transaction to the user'stransaction facility. In embodiments, the user may issue a receipt tothe issuer of the medical records through his electronic transactionfacility.

In embodiments, the user may be able to select from stored personalhealth care information relevant to an interaction with a health careprovider. For example, after a user accesses the electronic medicalrecord, the user may transmit the health insurance information necessaryfor the health care provider to receive reimbursement for the user'svisit to the health care provider. The user may be able to update healthinsurance information from a remote location, as an example from home,or while at the location of the business. If at the location of thehealth care provider, the user may be able to use a portable computingdevice to transmit the health insurance information to the health careprovider's place of business. In embodiments, the recipient of thetransmitted information may transmit a receipt of the transaction.

In embodiments, a user in need of urgent medical care while travelingmay have his electronic medical record transmitted from his remotehealth care provider directly to his device, such as a cell phone orPDA, in order to make the record available to health care providers withwhom the user has no treatment history. During treatment at the remotehealth care provider facility, the user's electronic medical record maybe updated, enabling the user to integrate the new treatment recordobtained at a distant facility with that of the primary health careprovider and to share this new treatment information with the primaryhealth care provider.

In embodiments, a user may have health insurance information from atleast one insurer from whom the user receives health care policyinformation in electronic format as an electronic health insurancepolicy card. For example, a user may receive an electronic healthinsurance policy card directly from a health insurer. In embodiments,the electronic health insurance policy card may be an electronicfacsimile of health insurance policy covering the user's medical carethat may contain the user's name, address, health insurance policynumber, contact information for the health insurance provider, coverageinitiation and expiration dates, the user's primary care physician, andor other information relevant to the user's health insurance coverage.In embodiments, the user may then be able to store the electronic healthinsurance policy card on a client facility. For example, the clientfacility may be a cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, home computer, or otherdevice capable of data storage. The client facility may be able to storeat least one electronic health insurance policy card from one healthinsurance provider.

In embodiments, the user may be able to select from stored electronichealth insurance policy cards relevant to an interaction with a healthcare provider, pharmacy, or other health care entities for which theuser carries a health insurance policy. For example, upon admission to ahealth care provider's facility, the user may transmit the healthinsurance information necessary for the health care provider to receivereimbursement for the user's visit to the health care provider. The usermay be able to update health insurance information from a remotelocation, as an example from home, or while at the location of thebusiness. If at the location of the health care provider, the user maybe able to use a portable computing device to transmit the healthinsurance information to the health care provider's place of business.Additionally, the health insurance provider may be able to update theuser's health insurance policy information remotely by transmitting thenew information directly to the user's device. If the user has healthinsurance providing coverage for prescription medications, the usercould present the electronic health insurance policy card at thepharmacy at the point of sale for prescription medication. Inembodiments, the cards are transmitted and stored as a representation ofan actual card as disclosed herein.

In embodiments, a user may be able to request, obtain, and transmit ahealth care referral that is required by a health insurance providerfrom a user's health provider to the appropriate health insuranceprovider.

In embodiments, a physician may transmit a drug prescription for a userdirectly to the user's device. In embodiments, the electronic drugprescription may be an electronic facsimile of the physician'sDEA-sanctioned drug prescription form including the physician's name andcontact information, the patient's name, the drug prescribed, thecorrect dosage and the amount prescribed, the date of the prescription,or other information relevant to the user's drug prescription. Inembodiments, the user may then be able to store the electronic drugprescription on a client facility. For example, the client facility maybe a cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, home computer, or other device capableof data storage. The client facility may be able to store at least oneelectronic drug prescription from one health care provider.

In embodiments, the user may be able to transmit the electronic drugprescription at the point of sale with a pharmacist. For example, uponentry to the pharmacy a user may transmit the electronic drugprescription directly from the user's device to the electronic networkof the pharmacy. To assist the pharmacy in verifying the authenticity ofthe electronic drug prescription, the prescription may be bound to anelectronic watermark or other security encryption device. Inembodiments, the pharmacist may transmit a receipt in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

In embodiments, drug manufacturers may provide direct-to-consumermarketing for specific drugs of relevance to the user's current medicalneeds. This direct-to-consumer marketing may take place at the timepoint of the physician transmitting the prescription to the user'sdevice, at the time point of the user transmitting the prescription fromthe user device to the pharmacy network, or both. Pharmacy information,such as price, inventory, hours of operation, or other information, forpharmacies in the current locale of the user could also be transmittedto the user's device in a manner similar to the drug manufacturer'sdirect-to-consumer marketing.

In embodiments, the user may be able to transmit an electronic informedconsent form to a health care provider. For example, upon admission to ahospital emergency department, a user may transmit an electronicinformed consent for treatment from a user device to the electronicnetwork of the hospital. Similarly, a user eligible for participation ina clinical research trial may transmit an informed consent form toparticipate in the research trial directly from a user device to ahealth care provider network.

In embodiments, a user may store electronic emergency medicalinformation and medical contact persons directly to the user's device.In an embodiment, the electronic emergency medical information maysummarize the user's name, address, phone, location of medical records,allergies to medications, list of current medications person is taking,blood type, disease, wishes for organ donation, or other informationrelevant to the user's drug prescription. In an embodiment, the user maythen be able to store the electronic drug prescription on a clientfacility. For example, the client facility may be a cell phone, PDA,Pocket PC, home computer, or other device capable of data storage. Theclient facility may be able to store at least one emergency medicalrecord from one user.

In an embodiment, a user may store personal information on an electronictransaction facility according to aspects of the present invention. Forexample, a user may store information such as phone numbers, addresses,email addresses, social security cards, driver license, credit cardaccounts, debit card accounts, business card information, address book,email address book, or other personal identification. In embodiments,the personal information may be information that is necessary fortransactions, such as a driver license, social security card, personalID, or for communicating with acquaintances with email, messages, orphoning. A user may need to communicate personal information for amonetary transaction as proof of identification; the identification mayinclude name, address, images, bar codes or other information forpositive identification with the business. In an embodiment, the usermay communicate with other users to exchange personal information. Forexample, a user may communicate with an acquaintance that may be near byto make an appointment. In an embodiment, a user may also be able toexchange electronic business cards at a meeting; wherein the electronicbusiness card may be a facsimile of the business card.

In an embodiment, there may be a personal identification manager thatmay review all transmissions from the user client. For example, themanager may review the distribution list of an email to determine if agroup of email addresses may be associated and a new email with some ofthese email addresses the personal information manager may query if theuser wants to include the related addresses on the email. The personalidentification manager may also track when a user is traveling andestablish a subset of acquaintances that were made. Upon the next visitto the same location, the personal identification manager may query ifthe user wants to contact the other associated acquaintances. In anembodiment, the personal identification manager may be able to interfacewith an available location detection facility of the user clientcomputer to determine a location. For example, the personalidentification manager may determine that the user is at a location thatmatches addresses in the address book and suggest communication may beappropriate with a person in the address book.

In an embodiment, the personal information manager may track personalbill payments and may make suggestions for changes in personal finances.For example, the personal information manager may determine that a useris using a credit card with a higher interest rate than anotheravailable card. The personal information manager may suggest that theuser take advantage of the lower interest credit card.

FIG. 34 illustrates a process flow chart for the exchange of personalinformation between users 3422 according to principles of the presentinvention. For example, the process may involve the exchange of businesscards at a meeting. In an embodiment, a user may store a business cardfacsimile 3402 on a user client computer (e.g. an electronic transactionfacility as described herein). The business card facsimile may containassociated attributes such as name, address, business name, businessicon, personal image, or other information associated with a businesscard. In an embodiment, a first user may transmit a business card to asecond user 3404.

In an embodiment, after the second user receives the business card fromthe first user a reply 3408 may be sent. For example, the reply 3408 maybe an acknowledgment that the business card was received and may be afacsimile of the first user's business card with an indication that thefirst user's business card was received. In an embodiment, the seconduser may reply 3408 by transmitting a facsimile of the second user'sbusiness card. The reply with a facsimile of the second user's businesscard may be the reply 3408 to the first user's transmission.

In an embodiment, the first user may be able to store the facsimilereply 3410 in an archive. For example, the facsimile business card maybe archived 3410 in at least one category on the user client computer.The client computer may be able to archive the facsimile business cardin categories by business, name, address, or other category.

In an embodiment of the communication between a user client facility3412, main service facility 142, and a second user client facility 34148is shown. Using the same business card example a user 3412 may want totransmit a facsimile of the user's business card to a second user 3414.In an embodiment, the user 3412 may initiate the transmission of thebusiness card facsimile 3418. In an embodiment, the user client computer3412 may be a home PC, a kiosk PC, cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, or othersimilar computer device. The transmission may be sent 3418 to a mainservice facility 142. The main service facility 142 may match the user'stransmission 3412 to the intended recipient, the second user 3414. In anembodiment, the main service facility 142 may transmit the business cardfacsimile 3420 to the second user 3414. In an embodiment, the seconduser client computer 3414 may be a home PC, a kiosk PC, cell phone, PDA,Pocket PC, or other similar computer device.

In an embodiment, the second user 3414 may receive the business cardfacsimile. In an embodiment, the second user 3414 may transmit a reply3420 to the first user 3412 with a facsimile of the second user's 3414business card or with an acknowledgment of the first user's businesscard facsimile. In an embodiment, the main service facility 142 maymatch the reply to the first user 3412 and transmit 3418 the seconduser's 3414 business card or acknowledgement to the first user 3412.After receiving the reply, the first user 3412 may archive the reply aspreviously described.

In an embodiment, the communication between the user client 3412 and thesecond user 3414 may take place remotely, with the users in differentlocations, or with the users being at the same location.

Referring to FIG. 35, an embodiment of a user client portable computerdevice 3504 is shown. For example, a portable computer device may be acell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, tablet PC, or other similar computer device.In an embodiment, a client computer 3504 may have a user interface 3512for personal information management. The user interface 3512 may have atleast one method of navigation. For example, the user interface 3512 mayhave a menu 3504, navigation buttons 3510, action window 3508, or othernavigation method. The menu 3504 may comprise action headings file,search, category, quit, or other needed action grouping. Within each ofthese menu 3504 action groupings there may be individual actions. Theuser interface 3512 may also have short cut buttons 3510 that mayperform the function of the menu 3504 action items. After selecting anaction, from either the menu 3504 or buttons 3510, an action window 3508may be accessed to display actions that may be associated to theselected action. For example, in response to an action for display ofPersonal Action, the action window may display the available actionssuch as phone, address, business, or cards. The available actions may beselected to begin other actions.

In an embodiment, a user may purchase lottery tickets with a user clientcomputer device. In an embodiment, the user client computer device maybe a home computer, a public kiosk computer, cell phone, PDA, Pocket PC,tablet PC, or other computing device capable of communication accordingto aspects of the present invention. In an embodiment, a user mayinitiate the purchase of a lottery ticket from a gaming facility. Agaming facility may be any facility that is authorized and capable ofissuing lottery tickets for a gaming organization. For example, the usermay purchase a ticket from any government operated or legal businessgaming operations (e.g. gaming casinos). In embodiments, a user may beable to select a personal lottery number, have the user client facilitypick a random number, and or request the gaming facility to pick arandom number. The user may transmit the lottery ticket purchaseinformation to the gaming facility either wired or wireless. In anembodiment, the user may purchase the lottery ticket from a locationother then the gaming facility or locally at the gaming facility. Forexample, the user may purchase the lottery tickets over the internet,through a public café, or other transaction center dealing with theexchange of lottery tickets.

FIG. 36 illustrates a flow chart for the purchase of lottery tickets3624 according to the principles of the present invention. In anembodiment, a user may select a lottery number 3602 to play at a gamingfacility. The number may be selected by the user, randomly selected bythe user's client computer, or the user may request the gaming facilityto randomly select the lottery number. The user may then be able tostore the lottery ticket number and or other attributes 3604 on the userclient facility. The other attributes may be the users gamingidentification number, name, phone number, or other information toidentify the user as the lottery ticket purchaser. In an embodiment, theuse may transmit the lottery ticket purchase to a gaming facility withthe attributes 3608.

In an embodiment, the gaming facility may receive the lottery ticketpurchase request from the user and then may transact the purchase of theticket. For example, the gaming facility may transact payment of thelottery ticket before issuing the ticket to the user. The paymentinformation may have been received with the lottery ticket request fromthe user. After verification of payment, the gaming facility may issuean actual facsimile of the lottery ticket 3610 to the user as a receiptof the purchase of the lottery ticket. The actual facsimile of thelottery ticket may be marked with an acknowledgement of payment for thelottery ticket, for example with the words “paid”. The gaming facilitymay also issue a facsimile of the lottery ticket and a receiptindicating the payment for the lottery ticket.

Once the user receives a copy of the lottery ticket facsimile from agaming facility, the user may store the facsimile in an archive 3612.The archives may be cataloged by gaming type, drawing date, datepurchased, or other catalog chosen by the user.

Continuing with FIG. 36, an embodiment of the communication flow betweenthe user client facility 3614, main service facility 142, and the gamingfacility client 3618 is shown. In an embodiment, the user client 3614may initiate communication to the gaming facility client 3618. The userclient 3614 may transmit 3620 the lottery ticket request with theassociated attributes to the main service facility 142. In embodiments,the attributes may be the number of tickets, the ticket numberinformation, the users ID, the method of payment, and other informationrequired for the purchase of the lottery ticket. The main servicefacility 142 may match the ticket request with the requested gamingfacility 3618 and transmit all of the information 3622.

In an embodiment, the gaming facility client 3618 may receive the ticketrequest information from the main service facility 142. The gamingfacility may process the payment from the user and then issue afacsimile of the lottery ticket to the user client 3614. The lotteryticket facsimile may have a marking acknowledging payment for thelottery ticket or the lottery ticket facsimile may be transmitted with areceipt indicating payment of the lottery ticket. The gaming facility3618 may transmit 3622 the lottery ticket facsimile along withattributes that may be the purchase date, lottery drawing date, or otherlottery information.

In an embodiment, the main service facility 142 may receive the lotteryticket facsimile and attributes and match them with the user 3614. Themain service may then transmit 3620 the lottery ticket facsimile andattributes to the user 3614. The user 3614 may store the facsimile aspreviously described.

In an embodiment, either the user 3614 or the gaming facility 3618 mayinitiate the communication for notification for lottery winnings. In anembodiment, using the communication method described, the user 3614 mayrequest from the gaming facility if at least one lottery ticket numberhas won. In an embodiment, after a lottery ticket drawing, the gamingfacility may transmit to all winners' notification a lottery ticket haswon. After notification of winning, the gaming facility may credit thewinning amount to a user indicated bank account, credit account, debtaccount, or other designated account.

Referring to FIG. 37, an embodiment of a user client portable computerdevice 3704 is shown. For example, a portable computer device may be acell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, tablet PC, or other similar computer device.In an embodiment, a client computer 3704 may have a user interface 3712for purchase of lottery tickets. The user interface 3712 may have atleast one method of navigation. For example, the user interface 3712 mayhave a menu 3704, navigation buttons 3710, action window 3708, or othernavigation method. The menu 3704 may comprise action headings file,search, category, quit, or other needed action grouping. Within each ofthese menu 3704 action groupings there may be individual actions. Theuser interface 3712 may also have short cut buttons 3710 that mayperform the function of the menu 3704 action items. After selecting anaction, from either the menu 3704 or buttons 3710, an action window 3708may be accessed to display actions that may be associated to theselected action. For example, in response to an action for LotteryTickets, the action window may display the available actions such asAuto Pick, My Pick, Game Type, and Buy Tickets. The available actionsmay be selected to begin other actions.

In an embodiment of a gaming facility user interface 3714 is shown. Inembodiments, the user interface 3714 may contain a menu 3718, a windowfor selecting actions 3720, or other method of navigating the userinterface 3714. In embodiments, the menu 3718 may contain categories ofactions. For example, the menu may contain file, search, retrieve, quit,or other option associated with managing lottery ticket distribution.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 3714 option through the menu3718 may open a window with related options. For example, a gamingfacility may select an option to view the categories of options forissuing lottery tickets available on the client. A listing may bepresented on in the window 3720. The listing displayed in the window3720 may be selected to perform additional actions.

In an embodiment, a user may vote from a user client facility in placeof using paper ballots at a dedicated polling place. For example, a userdevice may be used for corporate voting (e.g. vote for directors,shareholders, proxies, tender offers), public election voting (e.g.political candidates, unsafe area voting, local, municipal, county,state, federal), party elections, intra-party elections, selectingcandidates, voting on certain bills and other legislation. A user mayreceive an actual facsimile of the ballot and may vote remotely or at apolling location. In an embodiment, remote voting may take placeanywhere the user can communicate with a network. In an embodiment, avote may take place within a certain distance within a polling location.In an embodiment, a vote may be registered by the polling location toprevent more than one vote to be cast by the same user.

In an embodiment, a user may vote for a television program (e.g. a gameshow) and the television operations may poll the audience. For example,polling may allow an entire population or anyone with a voting enabledelectronic transaction facility to vote. In an embodiment, the audiencemay vote to determine what happens in an alternate ending of atelevision program.

In an embodiment, a vote may be based on or relate to advertising. Forexample, a user of an electronic vote transaction facility may see, hearor otherwise interact with an advertisement and he may vote for, orelect a preference, based on the advertisement.

In an embodiment, a user may store a ballot on an electronic votetransaction facility and the ballot may include attributes such as thedate of the election, the type of election, and or past electionresults. In embodiments, the ballot may be stored and or transmitted ina format that represents an actual ballot containing ballot information.

In an embodiment, a user client facility may create a notification if auser misses the deadline for a certain election. For example, the devicemay inform the user as the deadline approaches, after the deadline andor when the next election of that type is taking place. Such votereminders may be tailored to the users preferences. For example, theuser client facility may be sensitive to a location (e.g. through a GPSfacility, or through a proximity detection facility) and presentballot(s) for elections taking place in an area in close proximity tothe user. In embodiments, such notifications may be based, at least inpart, on the user's qualifications to vote in the election.

FIG. 38 illustrates a voting process flow 3824 according to theprinciples of the present invention. In an embodiment, a user may beissued an actual ballot 3802 by a polling place. The ballot may be anactual facsimile of a ballot that the user may mark a vote. The user maystore one or more facsimile ballots on a user client facility 3804. Theballots may be stored by ballot type, vote date, vote location, or otherstorage category.

In an embodiment, on an election day, a user may select a ballot fromthe stored ballots on the user client facility 3814 that will be usedfor voting. In an embodiment, there may be at least one ballot for anelection. After the user has selected a ballot the user may mark theballot for the users vote preferences. In an embodiment, with the ballotmarked, the user may transmit the ballot 3808 to a polling location.

In an embodiment, a polling location may receive the user's markedfacsimile ballot and may apply the users vote. In an embodiment, theusers identification may be marked as voted to prevent the user fromvoting more than once. The user may be marked on a paper poll listing ora poll database to indicate that the user has voted. In an embodiment,after the users vote is recorded, the polling place may issue a receiptof the voting to the user 3810. For example, the receipt may be afacsimile of the ballot marked with an acknowledgement that the vote wasrecorded. The receipt may also be a facsimile of a document indicatingthat the users vote has been recorded.

In an embodiment, the user may receive the polling place receipt andarchive it on the user client facility 3812. In an embodiment, thereceipt from the polling place may be a facsimile of the ballot or afacsimile of a receipt document indicating the vote has been recorded.The user may archive the receipt in a category based on election date,election type, or other archive the user chooses.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 38, an embodiment of the communicationbetween the user client 3814, main service facility 142, and the pollinglocation 3818 is shown. A user may choose a ballot from the availableballots and transmit 3820 the ballot to the polling place. The facsimileof the ballot may be transmitted 3820 to the main service facility 142.The main service facility 142, may determine the correct pollinglocation to transmit the facsimile ballot and transmit 3822 thefacsimile ballot to the polling location 3818.

In an embodiment, the polling location 3818 may receive the facsimileballot from the main service facility 142 and record the vote. Inrecording the users vote the polling location may mark the user'sidentification as having voted to prevent the user from voting more thanonce. In an embodiment, the polling place may transmit a receipt back tothe user acknowledging that the ballot has been recorded. The pollinglocation 3818 may transmit the receipt 3822 back to the main servicefacility 142. In an embodiment, the receipt may be a facsimile of theballot with an indication that the vote has been recorded or the receiptmay be a facsimile of a document indicating the vote was recorded.

In an embodiment, the main service facility 142 may match the ballotreceipt to the voting user and transmit the voting receipt 3820 to theuser 3814. In an embodiment, once the user has received the ballotreceipt, the user may archive the receipt as described previously.

Referring to FIG. 39, an embodiment of a user client portable computerdevice 3904 is shown. For example, a portable computer device may be acell phone, PDA, Pocket PC, tablet PC, or other similar computer device.In an embodiment, a client computer 3904 may have a user interface 3912for voting using a facsimile ballot. The user interface 3912 may have atleast one method of navigation. For example, the user interface 3912 mayhave a menu 3904, navigation buttons 3910, action window 3908, or othernavigation method. The menu 3904 may comprise action headings file,search, category, quit, or other needed action grouping. Within each ofthese menu 3904 action groupings there may be individual actions. Theuser interface 3912 may also have short cut buttons 3910 that mayperform the function of the menu 3904 action items. After selecting anaction, from either the menu 3904 or buttons 3910, an action window 3908may be accessed to display actions that may be associated to theselected action. For example, in response to an action for SelectBallot, the action window may display the available actions such asPublic, Corporate, Product, or Entertainment. The available actions maybe selected to begin other actions.

A voting transaction facility according to the principles of the presentinvention may include a user interface 3914 as illustrated in FIG. 39.In embodiments, the user interface 3914 may contain a menu 3918, awindow for selecting actions 3920, or other method of navigating theuser interface 3914. In embodiments, the menu 3918 may containcategories of actions. For example, the menu may contain file, search,retrieve, quit, or other option associated with managing the pollinglocation ballots.

In embodiments, selecting a user interface 3914 option through the menu3918 may open a window with related options. For example, a pollinglocation may select an option to view the categories of options forhandling ballots available on the client. A listing may be presented onin the window 3920. The listing displayed in the window 3920 may beselected to perform additional actions.

Certain embodiments of the present invention involve communicating,storing, printing and otherwise manipulating representations ofparticular transaction medium, such as when a representation of a checkor money order is communicated and stored by an electronic transactionfacility. It should be understood that there are many systems andmethods adapted for communicating, storing and or retrievingrepresentations of transaction mediums envisioned by the applicants ofthe present invention and such systems and methods are encompassed bythe present invention. For example, the representation or facsimile maybe presented in the form of a computer file associated with XMLprogramming language in such a way that many transaction facilities(e.g. a pda, cell phone, laptop, or point of purchase transactionfacility) may be able to read, view, store or otherwise manipulate thefile. In embodiments, communicating a universal representation of aparticular transaction medium may be used to facilitate a transaction,such as check cashing, where the receiver of the representation canvisually see a representation that is familiar in nature.

An aspect of the present invention relates to making check paymentsthrough an electronic transaction facility. In embodiments, a portabletransaction facility stores a facsimile of the check itself and orinformation relating to the check. The facsimile may be transmittedalong with or in addition to check, personal, identification or otherinformation. The transmission of the check facsimile may provide for thepresentation of a check, as opposed to simply providing informationpertaining to the check, tracking of the check, printing of the checkand or otherwise processing of the check itself. In embodiments, thecheck may be transmitted or otherwise presented by itself. In otherembodiments, the check may be accompanied by related check information,such as an account number, check number, routing number, accountinformation, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) number, name,address, phone, driver's license number, form of identification, form ofidentification verification, credit card information, other checkinformation, signature, signature information, signature facsimile,security feature information or other information that may be useful inthe transaction.

In embodiments, a bank or other financial institution may issue acustomer checks in a form to be stored on the customers electronictransaction facility. For example, the bank may provide checks to acustomer in a form to be stored on the customer's cell phone, pda,combination pda cell phone, desktop computer, laptop computer, hand heldcomputer, or other transaction facility (e.g. those described herein).In embodiments, the customer may purchase or otherwise retrieve thechecks and or related check information, remote from the bank, such asthrough the internet, local area network, personal area network, securenetwork, unsecure network, and or through other wired and or wirelesscommunication facilities. The actual checks, check facsimiles, checkreplications, check images, and or other forms of check reproduction maybe stored in the customer's transaction facility. Once the customerreceives the checks and or other related information, the customer maybe ready to use the checks and or other related information to performtransactions. For example, the customer may then go to a store or otherlocation where he would like to pay for goods and or services by checkand he may make the transaction through his portable transactionfacility. During the transaction, the merchant in the transaction mayhave a transaction facility compatible with the customer's portabletransaction facility to enable the transaction. The merchant'stransaction facility may be capable of receiving the check, checkinformation and or other forms of payment (e.g. credit cards, atm cards,paper checks and the like).

FIG. 40 illustrates a process for making a check transaction 4022according to the principles of the present invention. For example, acheck, and or related information, may be issued to a portable, orother, transaction facility through a financial institution (e.g. bank,credit union, or agent) in step 4002 of the process flow diagram. Then,the checks, and or related information, may be stored in memory in thetransaction facility in step 4004. Then, a person in possession of theportable, or other, transaction facility may make a check transaction bycommunicating the check and or related information to anothertransaction facility 4008. In embodiments, the other transactionfacility may be a dedicated check transaction facility or it may be amulti-functional transaction facility capable of making several types ofeconomic transactions (e.g. credit card, atm card, printed check and thelike). In embodiments, the other transaction facility may be a printeradapted to receive the check and print it for further transactionprocessing and or providing a receipt of the transaction. Once themerchant's transaction facility receives the check and or other relatedinformation, the merchant's transaction facility may communicate thecheck and or related information to a financial institution and or othercheck processing facility. For example, the check and or relatedinformation may be transmitted into an Automated Clearing House (ACH)processing system or other third party system designed to process thecheck and retrieve funds from the issuing financial institution 4010.Following an accepted transaction, a cancelled check and or relatedinformation may be communicated back to the customer's transactionfacility where it may be stored, viewed, manipulated, re-communicated orotherwise handled 4012.

FIG. 40 also illustrates an electronic check transaction 4024 accordingto the principles of the present invention. In embodiments, a portablecheck transaction facility 101 may be used to make a check transactionfor the purchase of goods, services, or to make other financialtransfers. For example, the portable transaction facility 101 may beused to communicate with a point of purchase transaction facility 4014.The point of purchase transaction facility 4014 may receive a check andor check information from the portable transaction facility andcommunicate the check and or check information to a computer server,computer facility, computer network or other facility adapted tofacilitate the check transaction 4018. For example, the computerfacility 4018 may facilitate the check transaction through ACHprocessing centers, other third party processing centers, with afinancial institution, bank, or other institution adapted to facilitatethe check transaction 4020. In embodiments, once the check has beencleared, money has been transferred, money has been allocated or thetransaction has otherwise been approved, a cancelled check, or otherindication of a completed transaction, may be communicated back to theportable transaction facility 101. In embodiments, the point of purchasefacility 4014 may facilitate the communication of the cancelled checkand or receipt. In embodiments, an external facility (e.g. wireless cellphone provider, wireless network provider) may facilitate thecommunication of the cancelled check and or receipt.

FIG. 41 illustrates a process for making a check transaction 4122according to the principles of the present invention. For example, acheck, and or related information, may be issued to a portable, orother, transaction facility through a financial institution (e.g. bank,credit union, or agent) in step 4102 of the process flow diagram. Then,the checks, and or related information, may be stored in memory in thetransaction facility in step 4104. Then, a person in possession of theportable, or other, transaction facility may make a check transaction bycommunicating the check and or related information to another portabletransaction facility 4108. Once the second portable transaction facilityreceives the check and or other related information, the secondtransaction facility may communicate the check and or relatedinformation to a financial institution and or other check processingfacility. For example, the check and or related information may betransmitted into an Automated Clearing House (ACH) processing system orother third party system designed to process the check and retrievefunds from the issuing financial institution 4110. Following an acceptedtransaction, a cancelled check and or related information may becommunicated back to the originator's transaction facility where it maybe stored, viewed, manipulated, re-communicated or otherwise handled4112.

FIG. 40 also illustrates an electronic check transaction 4124 accordingto the principles of the present invention. In embodiments, a portablecheck transaction facility 101 a may be used to make a check transactionfor the purchase of goods, services, or to make other financialtransfers. For example, the portable transaction facility 101 a may beused to communicate with portable transaction facility 101 b. The secondtransaction facility 101 b may receive a check and or check informationfrom the portable transaction facility and communicate the check and orcheck information to a computer server, computer facility, computernetwork or other facility adapted to facilitate the check transaction4018. For example, the computer facility 4018 may facilitate the checktransaction through ACH processing centers, other third party processingcenters, with a financial institution, bank, or other institutionadapted to facilitate the check transaction 4020. In embodiments, oncethe check has been cleared, money has been transferred, money has beenallocated or the transaction has otherwise been approved, a cancelledcheck, or other indication of a completed transaction, may becommunicated back to the portable transaction facility 101 a. Inembodiments, the second transaction facility 101 b may facilitate thecommunication of the cancelled check and or receipt. In embodiments, anexternal facility (e.g. wireless cell phone provider, wireless networkprovider) may facilitate the communication of the cancelled check and orreceipt.

An aspect of the present invention relates to making money ordertransactions through electronic transaction facilities. In embodiments,a portable transaction facility stores a facsimile of the money orderitself and or information related to the money order. The facsimile maybe transmitted along with or in addition to money order, personal,identification or other information. The transmission of the money orderfacsimile may provide for the presentation of a money, as opposed tosimply providing information pertaining to the money order, tracking ofthe money order, printing of the money order and or otherwise processingof the money order itself. In embodiments, the money order may betransmitted or otherwise presented by itself. In other embodiments, themoney order may be accompanied by related money order information, suchas an account number, check number, routing number, account information,magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) number, name, address, phone,driver's license number, form of identification, form of identificationverification, credit card information, other check information,signature, signature information, signature facsimile, security featureinformation or other information that may be useful in the transaction.

In embodiments, a bank or other financial institution may issue acustomer a money order in a form to be stored on the customer'selectronic transaction facility. For example, the bank may provide amoney order to a customer in a form to be stored on the customer's cellphone, pda, combination pda cell phone, desktop computer, laptopcomputer, hand held computer, or other transaction facility (e.g. thosedescribed herein). In embodiments, the customer may purchase orotherwise retrieve the a money order and or related money orderinformation, remote from the bank, such as through the internet, localarea network, personal area network, secure network, unsecure network,and or through other wired and or wireless communication facilities. Theactual money order, money order facsimile, money order replication,money order image, and or other forms of money order reproduction may bestored in the customer's transaction facility. Once the customerreceives the money order and or other related information, the customermay be ready to use the money order and or other related information toperform transactions. For example, the customer may then go to a storeor other location where he would like to pay for goods and or servicesby money order and he may make the transaction through his portabletransaction facility. During the transaction, the merchant in thetransaction may have a transaction facility compatible with thecustomer's portable transaction facility to enable the transaction. Themerchant's transaction facility may be capable of receiving the moneyorder, money order information and or other forms of payment (e.g.credit cards, atm cards, paper checks and the like).

FIG. 42 illustrates an electronic money order transaction process 4222according to the principles of the present invention. In embodiments,the money order transaction process involves issuing a money order andor associated information to an electronic transaction facility (e.g. acell phone, pda, laptop computer or other electronic transactionfacility described herein) 4202. The money order and or associatedinformation may be stored in memory in the electronic transactionfacility 4204. In embodiments, it may be a representation of the actualmoney order that is communicated and or stored. For example, a moneyorder facsimile or other representation may be stored in the memory ofthe electronic transaction facility to be later retrieved and ormanipulated. To continue the process of performing a money ordertransaction through an electronic transaction facility, the process mayinvolve transmitting the money order to another transaction facility4210. The money order may then be processed through normal financialinstitutions 4210. Following an accepted transaction, a receipt of thetransaction may be communicated back to the issuer's transactionfacility 4212.

FIG. 42 also illustrates an electronic transaction 4224 according to theprinciples of the present invention. In embodiments, a transactionfacility 101 may be used to purchase a money order from financialinstitution B 4220. For example, the transaction facility 101 may beused to communicate with financial institution B 4220 to request a moneyorder purchase. The financial institution B 4220 may request payment forthe money order from and or through the transaction facility 101 or thetransaction facility 101 may direct financial institution B 4220 towithdraw the funds from another financial institution, financialinstitution A 4214. Once issuing financial institution B 4220 is paid orreceives sufficient indication that it will be paid, it may issue themoney order and or other associated information to the transactionalfacility 101. Then, possibly at a later time, the transaction facility101 may be used to communicate the money order, representation of themoney order and or other related information, to another transactionfacility (e.g. at a point of purchase 4218). The transaction facilityassociated with the point of purchase may then communicate withfinancial institution B, or through an intermediate financialinstitution or exchange, to collect the money.

Referring now to FIG. 43, a user interface representative of a portal4300 is depicted. In embodiments, the portal 4300 may be displayed onthe display 100 of the electronic facility 101, on the local computer160, on the support computer 134, or on any other display facility thatmay be operatively coupled to the main service facility 142. Within theportal 4300 may appear a user interface element representative of aservice 4302. The service 4302 may be the service provided to the userby the electronic facility 101, including without limitation a serviceassociated with credit, debit, banking, identity, travel, phone, acoupon, a bill, a ticket, a health-related service, and/or a payment,or, in other embodiments, any of the other services described herein andin the documents incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively oradditionally, the service 4302 may be personalized and/or customized tothe user, depicted in the figure as the service 4302 labeled “MY OWN.”The portal may further comprise a binary user interface input element4304, such as a button, checkbox, and/or link. The input element 4304may allow the user to select a function associated with or related tothe service. In this figure, for example, the portal 4300 presents thefunction to “SETUP” a service, to view one or more “RECEIPTS” from oneor more prior transactions performed by the service, to view the user'swallet service center, or to indicate that the user has completed thecurrent portal session. In any case, the portal 4300 provides for asingle interface through which the user may access multiple services4302, which may be offered by a plurality of service partners. Servicepartners have been described above and, in any case, may comprisewithout limitation a telecommunications company, an Internet serviceprovider, an Internet content and/or services aggregator, a gamepublisher, an application service provider, or any of the other serviceproviders described herein. The portal 4300 may serve as the user's viewof his electronic wallet and/or as a functional point of contact betweenthe service partners and the user. The portal 4300 may specialize inproviding particular value added services that are related to aparticular topic, such as game-related services, merchant-relatedservices, airline-related services, government-related services,enterprise-related services, health-related services, fitness-relatedservices, religion-related services, sports-related services,insurance-related services, university-related services, party-relatedservices, pharma-exchange-related services, commodity-exchange-relatedservices, secure payment services, secure transaction services, or anyother services, including without limitation the services describedherein. The portal 4300 may provide a particular service only to aregistered user. This particular service may be personalized version ofa value added service.

Referring now to FIG. 44, a Web-based user interface representative of aportal 4400 is depicted. In embodiments, the portal 4300 may bedisplayed on the display 100 of the electronic facility 101, on thelocal computer 160, on the support computer 134, or on any other displayfacility that may be operatively coupled to the main service facility142. The task navigation bar 4402 may include navigational elements suchas drop-down menus, tabs, buttons, links, and so forth. The tasksassociated with the elements may relate to any of the services providedby the electronic transaction platform 100. The account navigation bar4410 may include navigational elements such as drop-down menus, tabs,buttons, links, and so forth. The accounts associated with the elementsmay be any of the accounts supported by the electronic transactionplatform 100, many of which are described herein and others of whichwill be apparent from the present disclosure and/or from the referencesincluded herein. The site/generic information navigation 4412 mayinclude navigational elements akin to those of the task navigation bar4402 and/or the account navigation bar 4410. The information associatedwith these elements of the site/generic information navigation area 4412may be associated with a privacy policy; an item of contact informationsuch as and without limitation an address, an e-mail address, a phonenumber, a fax number, a URL, a URI, and so forth; investor relations; ashopping cart; an account; an item; a press release; a solicitation foremployment; a condition of use; a copyright notice; and so forth. Thepromotional space 4418 may include informational elements associatedwith promotion of a product and/or service. Such informational elementsmay, without limitation, comprise an advertisement, an image, amultimedia clip, an interactive application, text, a Googleadvertisement, and so forth. The account identification area 4404 maycontain information pertaining to an account of a user. This informationmay include an account name, a user name, a field in which a user namemay be entered, a field in which a password may be entered, a link to afeature that may remind the user of a password, and so forth. Theaccount overview area 4408 may include information associated with anaccount to which the user is logged in. This information may beassociated with a type of the account or a type of good and/or servicethat may be associated with the account. Many types of accounts, goods,and services are disclosed herein and many more will be apparent fromthe present disclosure and the references included herein. Thealerts/reminders area 4414 may contain alerts and/or reminders that maybe associated with the type of the account and/or with the type of agood/and or service that may be associated with the account. For exampleand without limitation, these alerts and/or reminders may comprise abirthday reminder; a scheduled payment reminder; an item pickupreminder; a renewal reminder; a low-balance alert; a buy alert; a sellalert; a voting reminder; and so forth.

Referring to FIG. 47, a platform 4700 having the components andattributes described herein may include a client device 162 with anelectronic transaction facility 101, a merchant system 170, also with anelectronic transaction facility 101, and a main services facility 142,which may be associated with various service providers 168, one of whichmay be a financial service provider 168. The platform 4700 may have theattributes described elsewhere herein. These include the attributesdescribed in connection with the platform 100 of FIGS. 1 through 5, suchas secure transaction capability, optionally using a client device 162and supported by a secure distributed web-based platform, such as themain service facility 142. In embodiments, the transaction capabilitymay be provided with or without a wallet-based metaphor, for payment ornon-payment transactions. For example, a client device may initiate apayment 4702, initiate another form of electronic transaction 4708 (suchas making an offer for an item in an auction, naming a price in areverse auction, or the like), or initiate another action 4702, in eachcase optionally engaging device-level and user-level security featuresof the client device 162. In embodiments, the platform 4700 alsoprovides the ability to issue, securely and electronically, an entiretransaction token 4712 (which may be personalized or non-personalized)with all necessary images, branding, and/or data for conductingtransactions, directly to a user, through a wired and/or wirelessmedium, to a personal client device 162. In embodiments the clientdevice 162 may be a public device that is taken over for temporarypersonal use, such as a kiosk, public access computer, ATM, billboard,sign, appliance, or other public device equipped with computingcapabilities. A transaction token 4712 may be any facility for enablingor embodying a transaction, including, but not limited to, credit cards,bank account cards, frequent flyer cards, stored value cards, loyaltycards, insurance cards, drivers licenses and other licenses, bills,invoices and similar instruments, coupons, tickets, promotional flyers,and a wide range of other tokens. A platform 4700 may also provide theability to reproduce, securely and electronically, multiple existingcard, account, and vendor information, or similar information, withbranding and/or images, with necessary data for conducting transactions,on client device of choice (including a personal device or a publicdevice taken for temporary personal use). Thus, a service provider mayissue an item 4710, such as any of the foregoing, through the mainservices facility 142. A platform 100 may also provide the ability toconduct secure transactions n the physical world using proximitycommunication systems, such as infrared, RF, scanners, bar code readers,ultra-wide-band network facilities, Bluetooth facilities, 802.11xfacilities, Wifi facilities and the like with any client device 162 andwith any merchant system 170. In embodiments such transactions mayinclude use of bio-metric parameters.

The platform 4700, like the platform 100 described above, may furtherinclude the ability to securely access personalized web-based userinterface facilities for accessing various value added services from theservice providers 168. A platform 4700 may also include payment relatedservices, such as funds transfers 4724 or issuance of statements 4722from a financial services provider 168. The platform 4700 may alsoinclude the ability to issue to, and reproduce on, a client device 162(which may be a personal device or public device for temporary personaluse), securely and electronically, a receipt 4720 or acknowledgementrelated to transactions conducted in the real world and/or virtualworld. A platform 4700 may also provide the ability to store and archiveelectronic replica of receipts on a client device 162 and/or on apersonalized web-based portal. In embodiments such receipts may bestored with a merchant acknowledgment of a transaction, such as a “PAID”stamp. In embodiments a platform 100 may enable the ability to securelyand electronically interact with multiple domains, through any wiredand/or wireless medium, to procure personalized tokens, initiate andcomplete transactions, receive receipt or acknowledgement oftransaction, directly from client device of choice (a personal device orpublic device for temporary personal use).

A platform 4700 like a platform 100 as described herein also enables theability to secure proximity and over-the-air transactions, includingissuance of tokens and receipts, using multidimensional authentication,verifying the identity of, for example, the user of a client device 162,merchant system 170 or other device, verifying the identity of thedevice itself, and verifying the identity of the domain for one or moretransactions, in each case using appropriate cryptography tools and anappropriate strength of encryption, optionally with the ability tocustomize the nature of the Public/Private Key Infrastructure on a peruser, per device and per domain basis. A platform 4700 also provides theability to securely encrypt tokens and receipts, not only when they areissued, but also when they are stored on the client device. A platform100 as described herein also includes the ability to configure theuser-Interface and various personalized and/or non-personalizedapplications on the client device 162 (which may be a personal device ora public device taken for temporary personal use) based on the user'spreferences and/or through the support of an Expert system 4732 capableof learning over a period of time based on the user's behavior, usagepatterns, transaction history and qualified external inputs. An expertsystem 4734 may also reside on the main services facility 142 (which maycomprise one or more servers). A platform 4700 may also enable theability to provision multiple tokens, multiple services and multiplepersonalized and/or non-personalized applications, with a high level ofthroughput, efficiency, and fault tolerance, to the user's client device162 (which may be a personal device or a public device taken fortemporary personal use) based on the user's preferences and/or throughthe support of an expert system capable of learning over a period oftime based on the user's behavior, usage patterns, transaction historyand qualified external inputs. In embodiments, the platform 4700 has adistributed infrastructure, so that the various attributes describedherein can be embodied on a client device 162, merchant system 170, mainservice facility 142 or other device or system, such as a serviceprovider system. In embodiments a multidimensional database 4738 may beused to store attributes related to clients, client devices 162,services, service providers 168, merchants, merchant systems 170,transactions, payments, tokens, receipts, and other items. The databasemay store such information in more than one dimension, so that it can beaccessed by different applications or for different purposes.

Referring to FIG. 48, a high-level schematic diagram depicts features ofa ticketing process, using a platform 100 that includes an electronicfacility 101 and one or more main service facilities 142. The electronicfacility 101 is referred to as the “OneWallet,” in this figure, and themain service facility 142 is referred to as the wallet service center(WSC) 4808. In embodiments, a user invokes the universal electronicfacility 101, such as invoking a “OneWallet” application, and inputsdetails of the ticket to be purchased, which might be any kind ofticket. The ticketing system 4802 of a ticketing services providervalidates the request and confirms the availability of the ticket,optionally providing pricing data or other data, such as prompting theuser to select among other options, such as a class of ticket, a seatlocation, or the like. The user may select a payment instrument from theelectronic facility 101 and initiate a secure electronic paymentprocess, such as a process that results in payment from a bank orfinancial service provider 168. The service provider 168 may receive acredit confirmation, after which an electronic ticket is sent securelyand electronically, over-the-air, through the main service facility 142to the electronic facility 101 on the client device 162. In embodimentsthe platform 100 may also include an electronic transaction facility 101suitable to run as an application on a merchant system 170, such as themerchant wallet 4804. A merchant, through the merchant wallet 4804, mayuse the wallet 4804 on a merchant system 170, such as a machine at amerchant location, such as a retail location or the like. The merchantmay interact with the main service facility 142, in this case the walletservice center 4808, capturing and sending a customer's request for aticket to the ticketing system. The ticketing system can validate therequest and confirm availability, communicating pricing to theelectronic facility 101 (a “merchant wallet”) on the merchant system170. On confirmation, payment details may be sent securely andelectronically through the wallet service center 4808 (or similar mainservice facility 142). The merchant may accept payment from thecustomer. On payment, the ticketing system issues a ticket to theelectronic facility 101 of the merchant system 170. In embodiments themerchant may print out the ticket and hand it to the customer.

FIG. 49 shows a platform 4900 through which a merchant using a merchantsystem 170 can enable the various features and attributes describedherein, such as in connection with the platforms 100 and 4700 describedabove. A merchant may be any merchant, such as a telecommunicationscompany, bank, internet service provider, or vendor of goods orservices. The merchant can set up a web-based platform using a mainservices facility 142, which may have a secure transaction interfacewith the merchant system 170 in the form of an electronic transactionfacility 101 with the attributes described herein, which may interfacewith various backend systems such as a supply chain management system,an inventory database, and the like of the merchant. The merchant mayalso set up payment systems using the main service facility 142, inconjunction with a payments services provider 168, such as a bank,paypal or a similar service, so that the payments service provider 168can provide secure payments 4924 to the merchant through the platform ofa main services facility 142. The merchant may also set up relationshipswith manufacturers, vendors, service providers, sales representatives,distributors and other parties, each of whom may access the main servicefacility 142 to provide various value added services relating to theselling of the merchant's goods or services, including services such asdistribution, fulfillment and secure payment services. For example, adistribution service provider 168 may display goods 4910 with a pricequote 4912, such as on a web site or by an email that can be accessedthrough the main services facility 142 by a client device 162. In somecases goods may include content items 4914 that can be fulfilled by afulfillment provider directly to the client device 162. The goods may bephysical goods that are shipped by the fulfillment provider afterreceiving a payment 4924 from a payments service provider 168, or may beelectronic goods, such as tickets, music, entertainment content, games,or the like, which in embodiments are fulfilled with branding, logos orthe like. The fulfillment provider may provide order confirmation 4920through the main services facility 142. In each case, the main servicesfacility 142 can provide the features described above, includingproviding multilevel security related to the domain, user and device, aswell as capturing multidimensional data about the goods, services,customers, transactions and the like supported by the merchant in themultidimensional database 4738. The merchant may have a physical retaillocation or may be an entirely online merchant.

The platform 4900 can use client devices of a merchant (which might be apersonal device or a public device such as a sign or vending machinetaken for temporary personal use). This may include mobile phones, PCs,point-of-sale terminals, kiosks, etc., to conduct various securetransactions, which include but are not limited to accepting payments,conducting payments on behalf of other service providers, procuringgoods and/or services, and distributing goods and/or services, usingexisting payment instruments, which include but are not limited to cash,credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored valueaccounts, etc. Merchants can use the platform 4900 to offer consumersthe ability to conduct various secure personalized transactions,including but not limited to, buying goods and/or services, or redeemingpersonalized coupons and promotions, or paying their bills, ortransferring funds, or topping up airtime, or purchasing and procuringtickets (travel or entertainment), or conducting mobile bankingtransactions, or buying/redeeming lotteries, or voting (for Governmentand/or private Enterprise), etc., utilizing their own infrastructure(physical and virtual) as well as the secure transaction abilities ofthe platform 4900.

Merchants can use the platform 4900 to procure goods and services fromdistributors and manufacturers, for the purposes of re-selling toconsumers and/or other retailers and/or other distributors, by placingorders for such goods and/or services and making payments securely andelectronically in real time, using the secure transaction capabilitiesof the platform 4900. Merchants can use the platform 4900 to enabledistributors and fulfillment service providers to distribute and fulfillthe merchants' own goods and services. The platform 4900 can supportvarious value added services for merchants, such as the capability tosecurely store transaction records, capability to mine and analyze thedata, and capability to avail various analytical, quantitative and valueadded services for increasing overall profitability.

The merchant using a merchant system 170 may be an entity in the realworld and/or a virtual world. The provider of the platform 4900 maywithout limitation be a Telco, Internet service provider, Internetcontent and/or service aggregator, game publisher, third-partyapplication service provider, or any other service provider 168. Thecapability may be comprise the setup and provision of a Web-basedplatform.

The platform 4900 may specialize in providing a value added servicerelated to the selling of goods and/or services; the procurement ofgoods and/or services; and/or the distribution of goods and/or services.The value added service may comprise a secure payment and transactionservice, which may be described elsewhere in this disclosure. Inparticular, the platform 4900 may have a secure transaction interfacewith the merchant's existing backend system, a financial servicesprovider, a payment system, a manufacturer, a service provider, adistributor, or with any other system.

The platform 4900 may use an exiting client facility of the merchant ormay interface with an electronic facility (portable or otherwise) thatacts as a client facility. In any case, the client facility may be aprivately available device or a publicly available device. The clientfacility may be a portable electronic facility, a mobile phone, apersonal computer, a point-of-sale terminal, a kiosk, and so forth. Theclient facility may conduct a secure transaction, which may withoutlimitation comprise accepting a payment, conducting a payment on behalfof a service provider, procuring a good and/or service, distributing agood and/or service, using an existing payment instrument, and so forth.The existing payment instrument may comprise cash, a credit card, adebit card, an electronic check, a prepaid account, a stored valueaccount, and so forth.

The platform 4900 may provide the merchant with the ability to offer auser, who may be a consumer, with the ability to conduct a securetransaction, which may be a personalized transaction, which may withoutlimitation comprise without limitation buying a good and/or service,redeeming a coupon (personalized or otherwise), participating in apromotion (personalized or otherwise), paying a bill, transferringfunds, topping up airtime, purchasing and/or procuring a ticket(including without limitation a travel ticket or entertainment ticket),conducting a banking transaction (which may without limitation be amobile banking transaction), buying a lottery instrument (such aswithout limitation a lottery ticket), redeeming the lottery instrument,voting (such as without limitation for a governmental election, acorporate election, and so on), and so forth.

FIG. 50 shows a platform 5000 through which a service provider,financial provider, telecommunications provider or other provider orentity 168 can connect with an airline system 170 or an affiliate of theairline 5110 which can enable the various feature and attributesdescribed herein, such as in connection with the platforms 100 and 4700described above. FIG. 50 illustrates a platform where an Airline and/orTelco and/or Bank and/or Service Provider and/or Internet ServiceProvider and/or Application Service Provider and/or other entity, hasthe ability to setup a web-based platform through a main servicefacility 142, which has secure transaction interfaces with Airline'sexisting back-end systems 170, various financial services providers,payment systems, service providers, and third-party ticketing systems(e.g. providing third party tickets 5014), where such platform 5000specializes in providing various value added services related to theselling and distribution of tickets (such as airline tickets 5028) andrelated services (e.g. for their own Airline, as well as other partnersor affiliates 5110 which may include other Airlines, Hotels,Car-rentals, Restaurants, Banks, etc.), selling and distribution ofloyalty based products and services (e.g. for their own Airline, as wellas other partners or affiliates 5110 which may include other Airlines,Hotels, Car-rentals, Restaurants, Banks, etc.), distribution of couponsand promotions (e.g. for their own Airline, as well as other partnerswhich may include other Airlines, Hotels, Car-rentals, Restaurants,Banks, etc.), and overall management of employee's time and resources,and including various secure payment and transaction services; with afocus on increasing efficiency, user convenience, customer and partnersupport, and overall profitability.

The airline connectivity platform 5000 may also provide Customers,Employees, Distributors and Agents, with client devices 162 oralternately use their existing client devices 162 (in either case, theclient device could be a personal device or public device for temporarypersonal use), which include but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs,point-of-sale terminals, kiosks, etc., to conduct various securetransactions, which includes but are not limited to accepting paymentsfor goods and services, distribution of goods and services, distributionof information with our without preferences, and conducting payments onbehalf of other service providers, using existing payment instruments,which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards, debit cards,electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The airplane connectivity platform 5000 may also provide Customers withthe ability to securely book travel and other related services from theAirline or any of its partners, purchase tickets and related servicesfrom the Airline or any of its partners, securely download the ticketsand related information/services from the Airline or any of itspartners, securely download loyalty cards/co-branded cards/paymentcards/coupons/promotions, etc. from the Airline or any of its partners,redeem tickets/cards/coupons, etc. at a point of transaction, and availvarious related profile driven and personalized value added services,such as managing travel and loyalty information, archiving transactionrecords, etc. For example, a customer may make such transaction(s)thorough the use of a client device or airline device similar to thatdescribed in connection with Airline device 162 and other such devicesdescribed herein.

The airline connectivity platform 5000 may also enable the Airline tobetter manage its Employees and usage of various goods and resources,with a focus on increasing overall profitability, for example, byallowing Employees to access their individual flight schedulinginformation, or by allowing Employees to schedule the delivery ofvarious goods and services to the aircraft, etc., all done remotely,securely and in real-time through client devices, airline device 162 orother such devices as described herein.

The airline connectivity platform 5000 may also enable the Airline tosell tickets, issue tickets and other related services directly to theircustomers, without using agents and their networks.

The airline connectivity platform 5000 may also enable the Airline'sAgents to issue tickets and other related services (of the Airline aswell as their participating partners), to customers.

FIG. 51 shows a platform 5100 through which a government entity using agovernment entity system 170 can enable the various feature andattributes described herein, such as in connection with the platforms100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 51 illustrates a governmentconnectivity platform 5100 where a Government and/or Telco and/or Bankand/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/orApplication Service Provider and/or other entity, has the ability tosetup a web-based platform through a main services facility 142, whichhas secure transaction interfaces with Government's existing back-endsystems 170, various financial services providers, payment systems,utility and service providers, where such Portal specializes inproviding value added services related to the selling and distributionof various government run/managed goods 5110 and services directly tocitizens, as well as other government organizations, and privateenterprises (G2C, G2G, G2B, etc.), and including various secure paymentand transaction services (which may be associated with payments 5130);in association and/or accordance with governmental regulations 5128; inthe process increasing overall efficiency, convenience for citizens andemployees, and profitability.

The government connectivity platform 5100 may provide Employees,Commission Agents, Enterprises and Citizens, with client devices oralternately use their existing client devices (in either case, theclient device could be a personal device or public device for temporarypersonal use), which include but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs,point-of-sale terminals, kiosks, etc., to conduct various securetransactions, which includes but are not limited to accepting paymentsfor goods and services, distribution of goods and services, distributionof information with our without preferences, and conducting payments onbehalf of other service providers, using existing payment instruments,which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards, debit cards,electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc. For example,a government service provider 168 may provide services through thegovernment entity (e.g. such as providing services 5114 and issuingorder confirmations 4920) on behalf of the government entity. As anotherexample, a service provider 168 may provide services or goods 5110 tothe government entity along with price quotes 4912 and the like. Acitizen (or non-citizen) may connect to the government system 170through the main facility 142 to obtain services 5108, provide payment4902, receive payment 4902 or obtain another form or product or servicefrom the government system 170.

The government connectivity platform 5100 may also allow Citizens tosecurely access information related to various Government managedservices and programs, to securely procure various Government managedgoods and services, to securely pay for various Government managed goodsand services in real-time, in other than real-time, and or securelyreceive a receipt of payment on successful delivery of goods andservices, where all such transaction can be conducted either by theConsumer through his/her own client device 162, or through a clientdevice housed in a merchant/retail/community location and equipped withthe ability to enable such secure transactions 162.

The government connectivity platform 5100 may also allow Employees andother Government organizations to conduct secure transactions, relatedto the procurement, distribution and payment of various goods andservices, using either the client devices 162 provided by theGovernment, or their own client devices, or client devices housed in amerchant/retail/community location, wherein the client device isequipped to conduct secure transactions with such a platform (e.g.through the main services facility 142).

The government connectivity platform 5100 may also allow GovernmentEmployees and other Government organizations to conduct securetransactions with private Enterprises (e.g. service provider 168),related to the procurement, distribution and payment of various goodsand services, using either the client devices provided by theGovernment, or their own client devices, or client devices housed in amerchant/retail/community location, wherein the client device isequipped to conduct secure transactions with such a platform (e.g.through the main services facility 142).

FIG. 52 shows a platform 5200 through which an enterprise entity using aenterprise entity system 170 can enable the various feature andattributes described herein, such as in connection with the platforms100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 52 illustrates a enterpriseconnectivity platform 5200 where an Enterprise and/or Telco and/or Bankand/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/orApplication Service Provider and/or other entity, has the ability tosetup a web-based platform through a main services facility 142, whichhas secure transaction interfaces with Enterprise's existing back-endsystems, various financial services providers, payment systems, andservice providers, where such Portal specializes in providing valueadded services with a focus on increasing the overall profitability ofthe organization, by enabling their employees to conduct various securepayment and transaction services. For example, a service provider 168may receive an order for services 5114 from an enterprise system 170through a main services facility 142 and the service provider 168 maysend confirmation of the order 4920 to the enterprise system. Theservice may be a service for the enterprise or a customer of theenterprise for example. Where the service is for a customer,interactions may be directed to the customer through the main servicesfacility 142. As another example, a service provider 168 may delivergoods 5110 and/or goods and services 5228 to the enterprise system 170(or customer of the enterprise) and the transaction for the goods may befacilitated through the main services facility 142.

The enterprise connectivity platform 5200 may provide the enterprise'sown Employees and their partners Employees with client devices 162 oralternately use their existing client devices (in either case, theclient device could be a personal device or public device for temporarypersonal use), which include but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs,etc., to conduct various secure transactions, including paymenttransactions, using existing payment instruments, which include but arenot limited to cash, credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks,prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The enterprise connectivity platform 5200 may enable the Enterprise'sEmployees (or partner's Employees) to conduct secure transactions,including payment and financial transactions, either related toprocuring and paying for goods and services for the Enterprise and/orrelated to procuring and paying for goods and services for their ownpersonal use, where such transactions can be conducted in the real worldor the virtual world (including Bill Payments, Money Transfers, etc.),and additionally enabling the Employee to file expense reports andcollecting reimbursements.

The enterprise connectivity platform 5200 may enable the Enterprise'sEmployees (or partner's Employees) to conduct secure transactions, whichmay include instances where an Employee or Employees can securely andelectronically send a summary of the tasks performed and time/resourcesspent to perform such tasks, to their immediate supervisors, where thetasks may be related to an internal project and/or an external customer.

The enterprise connectivity platform 5200 may enable the Enterprise'sEmployees (or partner's Employees) to conduct secure transactions, whichmay include instances where a staff member can remotely send sensitiveand personalized data to another Employee or Employees, in relation tothe Enterprises internal dealings (disaster recovery, etc.) or dealingsrelated to their Customers, Partners, etc. (e.g. quotations, invoices,etc.).

The enterprise connectivity platform 5200 may integrate employees'payroll, and allow employees to use their payroll for settling personalpayment transactions conducted using the client devices supported by thePortal, related to the procurement of goods and services.

FIG. 53 shows a platform 5300 through which a health/fitness entityusing a health/fitness entity system 170 can enable the various featureand attributes described herein, such as in connection with theplatforms 100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 53 illustrates ahealth/fitness connectivity platform 5200 where a Health/Fitnessinstitution and/or Telco and/or Bank and/or Service Provider and/orInternet Service Provider and/or Application Service Provider and/orother entity, has the ability to setup a web-based platform through amain services facility 142, which has secure transaction interfaces withHealth/Fitness institution's existing back-end systems, potentiallyother Health Information Systems hosted by Hospitals, Laboratories,Pharmacies, etc., various financial services providers, payment systems,and service providers, where such Portal specializes in providing valueadded services to their customers, with a focus on increasing theoverall efficiency, user convenience, customer support, andprofitability of the organization, by enabling their customers toconduct various secure payment and transaction services. For example, aservice provider 168 may provide transactions associated with goods 5110and or services 5114 to a consumer through a consumer device 162 througha main services facility 142. The main services facility may includesecurity features to maintain the security of the information beingtransferred between various providers 168, consumers 162 and thehealth/fitness organization system 170.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may provide theircustomers with client devices or alternately use their existing clientdevices (in either case, the client device could be a personal device orpublic device for temporary personal use), which include but are notlimited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conduct various securetransactions, including payment transactions, using existing paymentinstruments, which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards,debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may enable customers topay for various goods and services.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may personalize goods andservices (including, but not limited to health/fitness programs 5329,diet/exercise programs 5308, diets, dietary supplements, etc.) forcustomers, perhaps in association with the contents health records 5302or other records 5330, which may comprise the health records 5302.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may securely distributepersonalized content, services and messages directly to the customer,through their client devices, including but not limited to fitnessprograms, dietary instructions, alerts based on time or other relevantcriteria, etc.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may allow customers tofeed information back into their personalized account at the Portal,using their client devices, with the purpose of archiving and updatingtheir records to avail various profile driven value added services,including but not limited to performance reports, update reports,revised training programs, revised dietary programs, etc.

The health/fitness connectivity platform 5300 may interface with otherHealth Information Systems (hosted by Hospitals, etc), includingpersonal health monitors, and update the customer's profile, furthercustomizing various personalized goods and services offered by thePortal.

FIG. 54 shows a platform 5400 through which a religious entity using areligious entity system 170 can enable the various feature andattributes described herein, such as in connection with the platforms100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 54 illustrates a religiousconnectivity platform 5400 where a Religious institution and/or Telcoand/or Bank and/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Providerand/or Application Service Provider and/or other entity, has the abilityto setup a web-based platform through a main services facility 142,which has secure transaction interfaces with Religious institution'sexisting back-end systems, various financial services providers, paymentsystems, and service providers, where such platform specializes inproviding value added services to their customers or followers, with afocus on offering personalized value added services, enabling customersto conduct various secure payment and transaction services. For example,a religious organization may connect its services with its parishioner'sor other followers through a parishioner device 162 through the mainservices facility 142. The religious organization may also connectservice provider(s) 168 with its own organization, affiliates,followers, other of its service providers and the like through the mainservices facility.

The religious connectivity platform 5400 may provide their customerswith client devices or alternately use their existing client devices (ineither case, the client device 162 could be a personal device or publicdevice for temporary personal use), which include but are not limited tomobile phones, PCs, etc., to conduct various secure transactions,including payment transactions, using existing payment instruments,which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards, debit cards,electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The religious connectivity platform 5400 may provide for customizedservices or counseling 5408 (such as religious messages, blessings,etc.), which may comprise religious content 5428, and securely send themdirectly to the customer or follower's client device 162, where suchservices can in turn be dictated by various criteria, such as time,location, auspicious periods, etc.; additionally, where similar messagescan be broadcasted to a larger group of followers.

The religious connectivity platform 5400 may allow customer orfollower's to securely transmit the donations 5402 to the Religiousorganization, using existing payment instruments and systems, in realtime, and receive an acknowledgement in the form of a receipt in realtime from the platform; additionally, where such funds may be donated bya group of followers, and where such funds may be donated on a periodicbasis by an individual follower or a group of followers, based oncertain pre-set conditions, such as the time of the month,anniversaries, etc.

The religious connectivity platform 5400 may customers or followers tosecurely procure and pay for various goods and services sold by theReligious organization or its partners.

FIG. 55 shows a platform 5500 through which a sports entity using asports entity system 170 can enable the various feature and attributesdescribed herein, such as in connection with the platforms 100 and 4700described above. FIG. 55 illustrates a religious connectivity platform5500 where a Sports institution and/or Telco and/or Bank and/or ServiceProvider and/or Internet Service Provider and/or Application ServiceProvider and/or other entity, has the ability to setup a web-basedplatform through the use of a main services facility 142, which hassecure transaction interfaces with the Sports institution's existingback-end systems, gambling organizations, casinos, various financialservices providers, payment systems, and service providers, where suchplatform specializes in providing value added services to theircustomers or fans, with a focus on offering personalized value addedservices, enabling customers to conduct various secure payment andtransaction services.

The sports connectivity platform 5500 provide their customers or fanswith client devices or alternately use their existing client devices (ineither case, the client device could be a personal device or publicdevice for temporary personal use), which include but are not limited tomobile phones, PCs, etc., to conduct various secure transactions,including payment transactions, using existing payment instruments,which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards, debit cards,electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The sports connectivity platform 5500 may provide the ability tocustomize various content and services for customers or fans (such asnews 5502, which may comprise scores, statistics, etc.) and securelysend such personalized content and services to their respective clientdevices.

The sports connectivity platform 5500 may enable customers or fans toplace wagers and bets (which may be embodied as an order 5508) on livesporting events, on a P2P basis (i.e. with other customers of fans), oron a tournament basis (against a group of customers or fans), or againstthe “house” or the Portal and/or its participating partners. Theplacement of wagers and bets may be verified through the transmission ofa confirmation 5330 associated with the wagers and bets.

The sports connectivity platform 5500 may customers or fans to procureand pay for various goods and services 5528 sold by the Sportsorganization or its participating partners.

FIG. 56 shows a platform 5600 through which an insurance entity using aninsurance entity system 170 can enable the various feature andattributes described herein, such as in connection with the platforms100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 56 illustrates an insuranceconnectivity platform 5500 where an Insurance Company and/or Telcoand/or Bank and/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Providerand/or Application Service Provider and/or other entity, may have theability to setup a web-based platform through a main services facility142, which has secure transaction interfaces with the InsuranceCompany's existing back-end systems, various financial servicesproviders, payment systems, and service providers, where such Portalspecializes in providing value added services to theircustomers—individuals or entities—with a focus on offering personalizedvalue added services, increasing efficiency, increasing convenience forcustomers, providing better customer support and increasing overallprofitability, enabling customers to conduct various secure payment andtransaction services. For example, a customer may use a customer device162 to access an insurance policy 5630 or make a claim 5608. Thecustomer device 162 may interact with the insurance system 170, one ofthe insurance entities affiliates and or service providers 168 throughthe main services facility 142. The insurance system may provide goods,services, or instructions 5628 to its customer or service providers 168.For example, the insurance system may issue an instruction or approvalthat may be associated with a claim 5608 to one of its service providers168 and it service provider 168 may then communicate with the customerthrough the customer device.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may provide the insurancecompany's customers with client devices or alternately use theirexisting client devices (in either case, the client device could be apersonal device or public device for temporary personal use), whichinclude but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conductvarious secure transactions, including payment transactions, usingexisting payment instruments, which include but are not limited to cash,credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored valueaccounts, etc.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may allow employees to securelysend sensitive messages (including quotations, sales figures, etc.) toother employees or their managers, etc.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may allow employees to submitinformation related to claims, securely and electronically, possiblyfrom a remote location.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may allow employees to view aninsurance policy 5602, securely and electronically, possibly from aremote location.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may enable employees to processpayments related to claims or other services, for customers, whereclaims have been approved (on-line or off-line), where if the customeralso has capable client device the payment or funds can be transferredfrom the employees client device to the customers device in real-time.

The insurance connectivity platform 5600 may enable customers tosecurely send information to the Insurance Company, and also procure andpay for various goods and services in real-time.

FIG. 57 shows a platform 5700 through which a university entity using anuniversity entity system 170 can enable the various feature andattributes described herein, such as in connection with the platforms100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 57 illustrates a universityconnectivity platform 5700 where a University and/or Telco and/or Bankand/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/orApplication Service Provider and/or other entity, may be able to setup aweb-based platform through the main services facility 142, which hassecure transaction interfaces with the University's existing back-endsystems, various financial services providers, payment systems, andservice providers, where such platform specializes in providing valueadded services to the University's students and employees, with a focuson increasing convenience, efficiency, support, and overallprofitability, offering personalized value added services, and enablingstudents and employees to conduct various secure payment and transactionservices.

The university connectivity platform 5700 the university's students andemployees with client devices or alternately use their existing clientdevices (in either case, the client device could be a personal device orpublic device for temporary personal use), which include but are notlimited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conduct various securetransactions, including payment transactions, using existing paymentinstruments, which include but are not limited to cash, credit cards,debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored value accounts, etc.

The university connectivity platform 5700 may enable students to conductsecure and personalized transactions with the University, as well aswith other students and employees, which may include but are not limitedto browsing through, selecting and registering for courses, any of whichmay be associated with an act of registering 5708; accessing variousUniversity resources including libraries, laboratories, etc.; viewinggrades 5702; procuring various goods and services, including loyaltybased services, coupons, etc. from the University and itsaffiliates/partners on or off-campus (including stores, cafeteria,restaurants, cinemas, book-stores, etc.) and paying for such goods andservices.

The university connectivity platform 5700 may enable employees toconduct secure transactions, with other employees, with students andwith the University or its affiliates/partners, which may include butare not limited to procurement of goods and services, scheduling and/orre-scheduling of classes 5728, seminars, etc., collaboration with otheremployees and students and the secure exchange of sensitive informationsuch as and without limitation grades 5730, with the overall goal ofincreasing efficiency and profitability.

The university connectivity platform 5700 may enable the University tocustomize and offer various personalized distance learning packages tostudents and customers.

FIG. 58 shows a platform 5800 through which a political entity (e.g.political party) using an political entity system 170 can enable thevarious feature and attributes described herein, such as in connectionwith the platforms 100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 58 illustrates apolitical connectivity platform 5800 where a Party and/or Governmentand/or Telco and/or Bank and/or Service Provider and/or Internet ServiceProvider and/or Application Service Provider or other entity, may havethe ability to setup a web-based a platform through the main servicesfacility 142, which has secure transaction interfaces with theGovernment's existing back-end systems, various financial servicesproviders, payment systems, and service providers, where such platformspecializes in providing value added services to their members,employees and citizens, with a focus on increasing convenience,efficiency, customer support, and overall profitability, offeringpersonalized value added services, and including the ability to conductvarious secure payment and transaction services. For example, a personmay use a client device 162 to interact with the political system 170,its affiliates, service providers 168 and the like to register 5708,vote 5802, interact with poling 5828, communicate with the politicalparty 5830, make payments 4924 and the like.

The political connectivity system 5800 may provide party-members,employees and citizens with client devices or alternately use theirexisting client devices (in either case, the client device could be apersonal device or public device for temporary personal use), whichinclude but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conductvarious secure transactions, including payment transactions, usingexisting payment instruments, which include but are not limited to cash,credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored valueaccounts, etc.

The political connectivity system 5800 may be adapted to enroll variousindividuals as party members and workers, capturing their personal andprofessional profile, and also issuing them personalized tokens ofregistration, which may include but are not limited to plastic cardsthat may additionally capture some form of bio-metric identificationand/or photographs, where the same information could also be issued inthe form of a virtual card onto the individual's client device, etc.

The political connectivity system 5800 may allow designated andpre-authorized party-member/s (including but not limited to Party'sMember in Parliament or House of Representative, Party Leader, etc.) topopulate, review and consequently update the platform, with informationrelated to party-members or workers, or information related to thestatus of various projects in the party-member's constituency, or otherrelated information, etc.

The political connectivity system 5800 may allow citizens (whichincludes party members, party workers and employees) of the state and/orcountry, to access certain areas of the platform, and view informationrelated to the status of projects, view information related to theactivities undertaken by their elected representatives, as well as theprogress (or lack) of initiatives in their own, and other,constituencies.

The political connectivity system 5800 may allow citizens to expresstheir opinions in the form of votes, on particularparty-member/s/worker/s, on the progress (or lack off) of variousinitiatives, on a formal and/or informal basis.

The political connectivity system 5800 may enable pre-authorized partyworkers to utilize the secure transaction capabilities of the platformto securely send messages or sensitive information, either directly toother party-members and/or groups of party-members.

The political connectivity system 5800 may enable citizens or partyworkers or employees to procure various good and services, and ifrequired pay for various goods and services.

FIG. 59 shows a pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 through whicha pharmaceutical entity using an pharmaceutical system 170 can enablethe various feature and attributes described herein, such as inconnection with the platforms 100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 59illustrates a pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 where aPharmaceutical Company or Companies and/or Telco and/or Bank and/orService Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/or ApplicationService Provider or other entity, may have the ability to setup aweb-based Portal, which has secure transaction interfaces with thePharmaceutical Company's or Companies' existing back-end systems,manufacturers/distributors/retailers back-end systems, various financialservices providers, payment systems, and service providers, where suchplatform specializes in providing value added services to theirregistered users and customers, with a focus on increasing convenience,efficiency, customer support, and overall profitability, offeringpersonalized value added services, and enabling registered users andcustomers to conduct various secure payment and transaction services.For example, the client device 162 may be used to interact with thepharma system 170, its affiliates, service providers 168 or otherentities to order refills 5908, obtain information on generic drugs5902, order prescriptions 5928, receive drug information 5930 (e.g. druginteraction information, drug overdose information, drug warninginformation), make payments 168 and the like.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may provide registeredusers and customers with client devices or alternately use theirexisting client devices (in either case, the client device could be apersonal device or public device for temporary personal use), whichinclude but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conductvarious secure transactions, including payment transactions, usingexisting payment instruments, which include but are not limited to cash,credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored valueaccounts, etc.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may enable registeredusers, which includes but is not limited to pharmaceutical companies,manufacturers, distributors, retailers, healthcare providers, governmentorganizations, etc., to securely access the platform and populate orpost information on goods and/or services they would like to trade,where trading includes but is not limited to selling, bartering orbuying, from other interested and relevant entities, where such goodsmay include but are not limited to generic drugs, patented drugs,alternative medication, etc.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may enable registeredusers, which includes but is not limited to pharmaceutical companies,manufacturers, distributors, retailers, healthcare providers, governmentorganizations, etc., to securely access the platform, procure and payfor various goods and services, including goods and services from otherregistered users of the Portal, where such goods may include but are notlimited to generic drugs, patented drugs, alternative medication, etc.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may facilitate on-linebidding, and enable registered users to place goods and services forbidding, as well as enable registered users to place bids for goods andservices.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may enable registeredusers to procure and pay for goods and services.

The pharmaceutical connectivity platform 5900 may facilitate betweenregistered users, communication of secure messages and sensitiveinformation; where such communication may be conducted between tworegistered users or groups of registered users.

FIG. 60 shows a commodity exchange platform 6000 through which acommodity entity using a commodity exchange system 170 can enable thevarious features and attributes described herein, such as in connectionwith the platforms 100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 60 illustrates acommodity exchange platform 6000 where Commodity Cooperatives (includingCooperatives of Farmers, Mining Companies, etc.) and/or Telco and/orBank and/or Service Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/orApplication Service Provider, may have the ability to setup a web-basedPortal, which has secure transaction interfaces with the Cooperatives'(and/or its members) existing back-end systems, distributor andretailers back-end systems, various financial services providers,payment systems, and service providers, where such Portal specializes inproviding value added services to their registered users and customers,with a focus on increasing convenience, efficiency, customer support,and overall profitability, offering personalized value added services,and enabling registered users and customers to conduct various securepayment and transaction services. For example, the client device 162,which may be a personal device or a public device for temporary personaluse such as and without limitation a mobile phone or a personalcomputer, may be used to interact with the commodity exchange system170, its affiliates, service providers 168 or other entities to conductvarious secure transactions 6008, including payment transactions, usingexisting payment instruments 6002, which include but are not limited tocash, credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and storedvalue accounts, and so forth.

The commodity exchange platform 6000 may enable pre-authorized users andcustomers (and in turn their members, e.g. farmers, etc.) to populateand consequently update the information 6030 at the portal, which mayinclude but is not limited to pricing information, availabilityinformation, location information, etc.

The commodity exchange platform 6000 may allow pre-authorized users andcustomers (and in turn their members, e.g. farmers, etc.) to access thePortal, procure various goods and services, and pay for such goods andservices, such as and without limitation via a commodity purchase/saleorder 6028.

The commodity exchange platform 6000 may facilitate on-line or off-linebidding, enabling registered users and customers (and in turn theirmembers, e.g. farmers, etc.) to place goods and services for bidding, aswell as enable registered users to place bids for goods and services,and consequently procure and pay for such goods and services, again suchas and without limitation via a commodity purchase/sale order 6028.

FIG. 61 shows an entertainment platform 6100 through which anentertainment entity using an entertainment system 170 can enable thevarious features and attributes described herein, such as in connectionwith the platforms 100 and 4700 described above. FIG. 61 illustrates anentertainment platform 6100 where an Entertainment Company (includingStudios, Producers, Artists, etc.) and/or Telco and/or Bank and/orService Provider and/or Internet Service Provider and/or ApplicationService Provider, to setup a web-based Portal, which has securetransaction interfaces with the Entertainment Company's existingback-end systems, various financial services providers, payment systems,and service providers, where such Portal specializes in providing valueadded services to the Entertainment Company's customers, including butnot limited to the end-Consumer, with a focus on increasing convenience,efficiency, support, and overall profitability, offering personalizedvalue added services, and enabling customers to conduct various securepayment and transaction services. For example, the client device 162,which may be a personal device or a public device for temporary personaluse such as and without limitation a mobile phone or a personalcomputer, may be used to interact with the entertainment system 170, itsaffiliates, service providers 168 or other entities to provide theirgoods and services 6108 (including programming content, movies, music,video-clips, documentaries, feature shows, etc.), personalizing theirdelivery, perhaps according to personalization information 6102, forregistered users of the Portal, including customers, distributors,end-Consumers, and so forth.

The entertainment platform 6100 may provide registered users andcustomers with client devices (in either case, the client device couldbe a personal device or public device for temporary personal use), whichinclude but are not limited to mobile phones, PCs, etc., to conductvarious secure transactions, including payment transactions, usingexisting payment instruments, which include but are not limited to cash,credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, prepaid and stored valueaccounts, etc.

The entertainment platform 6100 may enable various EntertainmentCompanies to provide their goods and services (such as entertainmentcontent 6128, which may without limitation comprise programming content,movies, music, video-clips, documentaries, feature shows, etc.),personalizing their delivery for registered users of the Portal,including customers, distributors, end-Consumers, and so forth. Theentertainment content 6128 may be associated with entertainmentinformation 6130, which may include price, length, type of content,title, director name, actor name, performer name, musician name, genre,and any other relevant information.

The entertainment platform 6100 may enable registered users of thePortal, including customers, distributors, end-Consumers, etc., to setuppreferences for delivery of goods and services based on variouscriteria, including but not limited to time, location, client device,and so forth.

In embodiments the entertainment platform 6100 may be a web-based gamingplatform. Embodiments of the present invention furnish a gaming provider170 with a capability. The gaming provider 170 may without limitation bea telecommunications company, Internet service provider, Internetcontent and/or service aggregator, game publisher, third-partyapplication service provider, or any other service provider. Thecapability may be comprise the setup and provision of a Web-basedplatform 6100.

The platform 6100 may specialize in providing a value added servicerelated to online or offline games, including a secure payment andtransaction service, which may be described elsewhere in thisdisclosure. In particular, the platform 6100 may have a securetransaction interface with the game publisher, with a game developer,with an online game host's back-end system, with an offline game host'sback-end system, or with any other system.

The platform 6100 may provide a mobile phone user, a PC user, and/or agame console user, or the user of any electronic facility (portable orotherwise) the ability to download a game and/or a personalized service.The platform 6100 may, alternatively or additionally, provide the userwith an ability to pay for the game and/or personalized service. In oneembodiment, the user may be able to place a bet on the outcome of agame. In another embodiment, the user may collect a payment for playinga game. The platform 6100 may, alternatively or additionally, providethe user with an ability to pay for a service on a subscription (thatis, recurring) and/or per-transaction basis, using a payment instrumentoffered by an existing financial services provider, including withoutlimitation a credit card, a debit card, an electronic check, a prepaidaccount, a stored value account, and so forth.

The platform 6100 may enable the user to play the game in real timeagainst another user, where both users may or may not be known to eachother. One or both users may be able to place a bet, via the platform6100 and on a person-to-person basis, on the outcome of the game. In analternate embodiment, one or both users may be able to put apredetermined amount of funds into a common pot at a predetermined time,such as before and/or after the start of the game. In this case, theplatform 6100 may distribute a portion or the entirety of the contentsof the pot (minus, perhaps, a commission) to the winner of the game. Inyet another alternate embodiment, the platform 6100 may enable the userto play the game in real time against a computer facility operated bythe platform 6100 provider. In this case, the platform 6100 may enablethe user to place a bet against the platform 6100 provider. This bet maybe based upon predetermined conditions, predetermined milestones, oroutcomes, any of which may apply to a particular gaming session and/ormultiple gaming sessions. For example, in a first-person shoot 'em upgame, the user may bet that he can kill 100 monsters within 10 minutes.Or, the user may bet that he can kill 10,000 monsters within 8 hours ofcumulative game play, which may span multiple gaming sessions played atdifferent times by the user. In still yet another embodiment, theplatform 6100 may enable a non-participant, such as a platform 6100 userwho is not playing the game, to place a bet on the user. In any case,the game may be a game of skill and/or luck and the outcome of the gamemay be a function of skill and/or luck.

The platform 6100 may enable the user to resell games to a second user,which may allow the second user to download the game as described above.This reselling of a game may comprise a person-to-person transaction ora wholesale transaction. The platform 6100 may capture a commissionassociated with the transaction.

It should be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art that aspects ofthe platform 6100 may be applied to other items and/or events such ascommodities, weather, and so forth. For example, instead of providingfor the downloading and playing of games, the platform 6100 may providefor the downloading and playing/rendering of ring tones, music, songs,videos, films, books, articles, reports, and so forth.

FIG. 63 shows a user-centric set of services deployed using the systemsdescribed herein. For a given user, a set of services from variousservice providers 168 may be may be enabled by an system that includes auniversal electronic transaction facility (“UET”) 101 on a client device162, including a user interface 5002, and main service facilities 142(not shown). Various main services facilities 142 can support, forexample, gaming services, licensing services, airline ticket services,content services, banking services, and other services. Each of thoseservices may be represented by the user-centric user interface 5002,which allows a user to initiate the various services from a clientdevice 162, such as any of those described herein. The client may thusinteract with multiple services, each of which includes the features andattributes described herein, such as device, domain and user-levelsecurity facilities, such as security features relating to each serviceprovider's 168 own system, as well as a user password and devicepassword for each service of the user. Various services may berepresented as icons (optionally with branding elements and securityfeatures that make the services the actual item (e.g., a credit card) asopposed to a mere representation of the item. An example of a userinterface 2002 can be seen in FIG. 43, which is one of many possibleexamples.

In other embodiments, a UET 101 may contain data for a licensing orregistration item. For example, the UET may store personal information,such as address information, social security number, license number,registration number, driving history, past licenses, compliance data,and the like. As another example, the UET may store money in digitalform, or credit card account and authorization for payment-basedlicensing transactions. As another example, the UET may store licensesor registrations for a user of the UET. In an embodiment, the UET storesand actual license or registration, optionally including a uniqueidentifier that identifies it as such or permits verification of thelicense or registration. Thus, the UET may contain, for example, adriver's license, including graphical representations of the items thatappear on the license, such as the photo of the driver, the signature ofthe driver, the state seal, a watermark or similar mark to preventfalsification of the document, and other features. The UET system, byenabling multiple distinct layers of security, can facilitate thestoring of the actual license on the UET, with a user being able toaccess the license to enable transactions, and the issuer being able toverify the issuance and use of the license.

Licenses that can be issued and supported by the UET system may includea driver's license, a fishing license, a hunting license, a medicallicense, a professional license, a bar registration, an attorneylicense, a dental license, a CPA certification, a degree or evidence ofprofessional membership or attainment, evidence of a membership in anorganization, a license to a seat in a sporting venue, a license to usea premises or venue, a license to enter a venue, a vehicle registration,a commercial license, a license to transport goods, an import license,an export license, a license to disclose information, a license toaccess information, a license to use a product, a license to receive aservice, and any other kind of license, permission, registration, animmigration visa, a passport, a travel visa, a foreign filing license, abuilding permit, an occupancy license, an occupancy permit, a businesslicense, a foreign qualification, a good standing certificate, acorporate license, a government decree or issuance, a GSA license, agovernment procurement license, or the like.

A customer user interface may be rendered on or by the UET to support alicense service. In general the customer user interface may include anyfeatures associated with an interface, such as text fields, buttons,drop down lists, check boxes, and the like, for navigation and use bythe user. The user interface may be dynamically generated in response toinformation received from the license issuer, such as a drop down listof available license types, fields that indicate prices for licenses,and the like.

The issuer facility may operate at a central location, such as a licenseissuer facility, such as a government entity, department of motorvehicles, organization headquarters, or the like, and at a point oftransaction, such as an office for issuing licenses, or a location wherea license is presented. The issuer facility may support functions andfeatures described in connection with various issuer and merchantfacilities described elsewhere herein. A license issuer facility mayinclude modules for storing, retrieving, manipulating and analyzing dataand events that relate to issuance, maintenance, revocation andmodification of licenses and registrations. For example, an issuerfacility may include a compliance module for recording transactionevents that relate to licenses, such as parking tickets, movingviolations, violations of fishing or hunting licenses, suspensions,debarments, and other events. A compliance module can trigger a renewalof a license in the case of expiration of a license that is compliance,or it can revoke a license, either because conditions have not been metfor renewal, or because one or more conditions for continued licensinghave failed. A license issuer facility may include a financial modulefor executing secure financial transactions related to licensing, suchas receiving a payment from a UET for a license issuance, renewal, orthe like, applying payments, storing data related to payments, reportingon financial transactions, or the like.

The license issuer facility may provide a user interface to an employeeof the issuer (or other authorized user), who may operate the userinterface to conduct a licensing transaction with the user of the UET.The issuer user interface may be rendered on a device that includes thelicense issuer facility, or a related or peripheral device. In oneembodiment, the issuer user interface is rendered on a desktop computer,and may be, for example, a browser-based user interface. In general thelicense issuer user interface may include any features associated withan interface, such as text fields, buttons, drop down lists, checkboxes, and the like, for navigation and use by the employee.

In embodiments, a central service facility as described abovecoordinates transactions between the UET and the issuer facility asdescribed generally above, and may provide or support any relatedauthentication, issuance, renewal, revocation, authorization, security,financial, or other functions associated with the licensing orregistration transaction.

The user computer may optionally participate in the licensing orregistration service, and may be used by the user to program or providedata to the UET. The user computer may also independently connectthrough a network such as the PSTN or the Internet to the centralservice facility, the license issuer facility, and/or the license orregistration providers to conduct network-based transactions. Thisincludes transactions relating to the licensing or registration service.For example, licenses may be issued online, and then transferred to theUET for subsequent use by the customer at a related point oftransaction.

In embodiments, the UET may receive and store evidence of licensingtransactions, such as proof that a license or registration has beenapproved, issued or renewed, similar to the “paid” stamp described inother embodiments herein. The evidence of approval may include agraphical depiction of a stamp, seal, or logo of a license issuer, suchas a government seal or evidence of official approval. The evidence maybe presented graphically in the UET, such as to indicate approval orcertification of the license by the issuer. Thus the UET may store theactual approval or certification, as opposed to merely storing evidenceof the same. The UET may track and store a history of such transactions,and/or multiple examples of one or more licenses or transactions. TheUET may support different security protocols, such as a securityprotocol for the transaction, a security protocol for the user of theUET, and a security protocol for the issuer. The UET system may supportdifferent security protocols for different issuers of differentlicenses, including different species of the same type of license, suchas licenses to do business issued by different states or provinces.

In a peer-to-peer embodiment of a licensing service, a number of UETs ofindividual customers may cooperate in a license acquisition. Forexample, a general contractor may procure a building license, which maybe then distributed to various subcontractors with an indication of theauthenticity of the license.

In embodiments a license may be used at a point of transaction. Forexample, a building license may be displayed at a building site, such asto a building inspector, including to a handheld computer interface ofthe building inspector, such as a UET.

In embodiments the methods and systems described herein enableregistered users, including customers, distributors, end-consumers,etc., to procure goods and services from various platforms and pay forthem.

Referring now to FIG. 62, there is shown a conceptual representation ofa particular embodiment the aforementioned multidimensional databasestructure 6200. While this representation, as shown, is limited to threedatabase dimensions (namely, “service providers, etc.” 6202, “contentitem, etc.” 6204, and “bill, etc.” 6208), it should be appreciated thatin embodiments the number of dimensions may be one, two, three, or anywhole number greater than three. In the depicted example, the units ofthe first dimension 6202 may correspond to an attribute of content items(wherein the content items may, without limitation, comprise items ofentertainment content 4928, items of commodity info 4930, items of druginfo 4930, votes 4902, grades 4930, policies 4930, orders 4908, records4930, health records 4902, payments 4930, regulations 4928, tickets4928, bills 4928, or any other content items herein described, madeapparent by this disclosure, or generally known), wherein the attributemay without limitation comprise names of content items, cash values ofcontent items, types of content items, ages of content items, sizes ofcontent items, ratings of content items (such as and without limitationMPAA ratings, personal preference ratings, ratings according to acollaborative filter, Morningstar ratings, and so forth), sources ofcontent items, or any other attribute an item of content items. Theunits of the second dimension 6204 may correspond to an attribute of theservice providers 168, wherein this attribute may without limitationcomprise names of the service providers 168, types of the serviceproviders 168, geographic location of the service providers 168, ratingsof the service providers 168, and so forth. The units of the thirddimension 6208, may correspond to an attribute of bills, wherein thisattribute may without limitation comprise amounts of bills, names ofpayers of bills, name of payees of bills, and so forth. In embodiments,the multidimensional database structure may be associated with the mainservice facility 142 and, in particular, to the databases associatedtherewith, as may be described hereinbefore or as may be apparent fromthe present disclosure and/or included references.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support a functionalaspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which may be referredto as a user-centric interface.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as a user-centric engine.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support yet anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as security and may relate the client device 162; thetransmission 138; and any hardware and/or software infrastructure thatmay be associated with electronic transaction platform 100.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support still yetanother functional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100,which may be referred to as an expert system.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support still anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as a self-learning and self-scaling system.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as a multi-dimensional smart-data structure.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support yet anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as a secure web-services protocol.

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as distributed infrastructure services (billing donedirectly on the phone—not centralized—distributed infrastructureservices).

The multidimensional database structure 6200 may support still anotherfunctional aspect of the electronic transaction platform 100, which maybe referred to as secure application throughput management (applicationto manage throughput of applications).

Referring to FIG. 62, a main services facility 142 may include or drawon a multidimensional database 6200, which may be stored on the samesystem as the main services facility 142 or be stored on a remotemachine. The main services facility 142 may be drawing on informationfrom multiple sources, which are populating the database 6200, which maybe a very large database. The attributes of the data may be set inmultiple dimensions, including relationships among data items acrossdifferent dimensions. This enables querying data in different ways fordifferent purposes.

For example, the multi-dimensional database 6200 supports theuser-centric engine and interface described in connection with FIG. 63,whereby various data relating to various services, service providers,domains, devices and systems are stored to allow a user to accessservices that use such data. The multidimensional database 6200 allowsthe system to sift through data more efficiently, employing differentdimensions that are optimized for particular retrieval tasks. Forexample, an element of data may be transaction-related. Anotherdimension may relate to how data is evaluated. A third element of thedata might allow static profiles or entries. A fourth element may allowexternal entities to enter data associated with the data. Data mayinclude data related to financial transactions such as billings 6208,data related to service providers 6204, data related to content items6202, or a host of other kinds of data. Storing data in amultidimensional database 6200 may assist with application throughput,as data may be stored in a fashion that allows efficient retrieval ofdata according to a user's specific needs. For example, a learningalgorithm or expert system as described herein may learn which servicesa user tends to use in which circumstances, and the expert system maypush data from the multidimensional database 6200 to, for example, aclient device 162 or a relatively local main services facility 162 toimprove performance of such services.

A user-centric engine looks at the data and takes advantage of it. Forexample, if a user flies into London, the platform may be aware of thatfact, be aware of past transactions (such as meeting people before), andlook at different dimensions of data to propose various transactions.Similarly, the engine may propose multiple transactions to the user,enabled by the data in the multidimensional database.

As the number of applications that use transaction services increase, aproblem can arise with application throughput capabilities. Largeamounts of data are present, organized in and efficient way in themultidimensional database 6200. Also, engines exist to make applicationsrevolve around a user, growing with the user as the user's historyoccurs. However, as many data elements come in simultaneously, there isa need for efficient handling of information. This may include manytechniques, including an application throughout switch. This may includeone or more elements, such as a physical switch that shifts betweendifferent physical communication facilities that relate to differentservices. An expert system may also be used, for example, tointelligently handle data to and from services, such as determining whatpayments are due, determining which ones are most important, or thelike, and then prioritizing data arrival from various services accordingto the rules of the expert system.

Another example of use of a multidimensional database 6200, auser-centric platform, and application throughput management is fordelivery of entertainment services. If the service providers 168 aredigital content providers, such as music, television or movie studios,digital content, such as a television show (e.g., a world premier liveevent), can be delivered to a particular user via the platform 100. Thecontent can be stored in the multidimensional database, and theuser-centric interface can allow the user to identify and obtain contentdesired by the user, such as a particular television show. For the user,a throughput management application may be used to handle digitalentertainment content and other data that is sent to the user'selectronic transaction facility 101, such as bills, messages, receipts,and other pieces of personalized information. There can be datastructures designed to enable better throughput of data for particularservices. Also, there can be a physical (e.g., switching) element ofapplication throughput to allow a user to receive such content. Switchescan include switching nodes, such as used in digital switchingtechnologies used in telecommunications infrastructure. There can alsobe an expert system, rules engine, learning engine or the like to manageapplication throughput to improve the user's access to data. All ofthese features can enable more effective provision of multiple servicesto a user.

The platform 100 may have interfaces to various service providers. Eachinterface may present significant challenges, based on the uniquerequirements of the service providers. In embodiments, the main servicefacility 142 may include a secure, self-learning and self-scalingplatform 100, such as one that automatically recognizes an interface ofa third party service provider and automatically initiates an interfaceto that service provider. In such embodiments, the platform 100 mayinclude security features as described herein, such as three-dimensionalauthentication across user, device and domain, as well as the ability tostore securely at the client application and the ability to transactsecurely at the transaction level. One example of a self-learningplatform would include an application that would recognize features ofan interface and apply preexisting features that are suitable for thatinterface.

FIG. 64 depicts a ticket issuance process whereby a registered user may,perhaps in association with the client device 162, the merchant systems170, and/or the main service facility 142, be issued a ticket. During asetup step, a customer registers for a service with a service provider168, such as a telecommunications company, financial service provider,or the like, optionally through a web-based wallet service center, whichmay take the form of a main services facility 142 as described herein.The customer may create a unique user identifier and PIN to accessservices of the web-based platform at the main services facility 142.The customer may set up various services, such as bank accounts, creditcards, or the like that may be used to make payments, such as paymentsfor tickets, top-up or the like. After setup the platform may be used toexecute a transaction. For example, a customer may approach a retailmerchant, equipped with a merchant wallet, which may be a merchantsystem 170 equipped with a UET 101 and registered with the main servicesfacility 142 to issue tickets. The customer may provide the merchantwith a user ID and ticket details, which the merchant enters into themerchant system 170 and sends to the main services facility 142. Onreceiving the transaction request from the merchant wallet/merchantsystem 170, the wallet service center/main services facility 142requests a PIN from the customer. The customer can get the requestdirectly from a mobile phone and send it to the main services facility142 or the customer can get the request on the merchant wallet/merchantsystem 170 and send the PIN through the merchant wallet/merchant system170. On authorization of the transaction, the main services facility 142may request appropriate funds to be debited from the account specifiedby the customer and credited to the ticket issuer's account and may senda receipt of the transaction to the merchant wallet 170. The merchantmay print a paper receipt and an e-Ticket for the customer using amerchant wallet/merchant system 170.

FIG. 65 depicts the steps in another embodiment of the ticket issuanceprocess. A user may log in to the user's client device 162, which maycomprise a one-wallet interface. The user may select tickets and inputticket details, then send them to the transaction platform (a mainservices facility 142), which relays them to a ticket issuance system asa query regarding availability and price. The ticket issuance systemreturns an indication of availability and price through the mainservices facility 142 to the client device 162. The user then selects apayment instrument on the client device 162, such as a credit cardstored on the client device 162 and passes it through the main servicesfacility 142 to a financial services provider, such as a bank,requesting financial settlement. The bank effects settlement, such as bycharging the user's credit card and notifies the main services facility142 upon settlement completion. The main services facility 142 thennotifies the ticket issuance system of receipt of payment, upon whichthe ticket issuance system issues the ticket to the main servicesfacility 142, which loads the ticket (an actual ticket, not justinformation about a ticket) on the user's UET 101 on the client device162.

FIG. 66 also depicts the steps in another embodiment of the ticketissuance process, in this case involving interaction with a merchant. Amerchant logs in and synchronizes a merchant system 170 with a mainservices facility 142. A user may provide a merchant with detailsregarding a ticket that it wishes to have. The merchant system 170requests and then receives a PIN from the user, at which point themerchant system 170 validates the user using the main services facility142/transaction platform. The user's request may then be routed securelyto the main services facility 142, which sends details of the requestedticket to a ticket issuance system. The ticket issuance system mayverify details and check price and availability for the ticket, sendingpricing information through the main services facility 142 to themerchant system 170 for discussion with the user. The user may confirmto the merchant a desire to purchase the ticket, at which point themerchant sends a request for financial settlement through the mainservices facility 142 to a bank, which may effect settlement with theuser's account and notify of completion of the settlement process. Uponreceiving notice of receipt of payment, the merchant system 170 mayconfirm payment to the ticket issuance system, which issues the ticketto the merchant system 170, so that the merchant can print the ticketand a receipt.

FIG. 67 depicts a system having the features and attributes describedherein for providing a P2P service. Two users, a sender and receiver,may have client devices 162 equipped with UETs 101. Each of them mayinteract with a main services facility 142/wallet service center, whichmay be connected to banks or financial service providers, atelecommunications system and to payment and settlement networks. Thesender may open a UET 101 on the client device 162 and select a P2Pservice. The user may select a payment instrument to be used and type anamount, along with an identifier for the recipient. The main servicesfacility 142 may validate details, including passwords or other securityfacilities to ensure the security of the transaction. The sender'saccount may then be debited and the recipient's account credited withthe amount indicated by the sender. Both the sender and recipient mayreceive messages confirming the transaction. In embodiments the sendermay send an actual item, such as a content item, ticket, or other itemas discussed herein, securely over the main services facility 142 to therecipient, including for a payment as supported by the financialservices embodiments described herein, in exchange for another item, orfor no consideration.

FIG. 68 depicts a P2P service process whereby a user, perhaps inassociation with the client device 162, the merchant system 170, and/orthe main service facility 142, may conduct a P2P payment. First, acustomer may register for a service with a service provider, such as atelecommunications service provider, financial services provider, orother provider or host of a main services facility 142, which may bepresented as a wallet service center (WSC). The customer may create aunique ID and PIN to access the UET 101 on the customer's client device162 or to access the main service facility 142. The customer maydownload the wallet/UET 101 to a mobile phone or other client device162. The user may set up bank accounts or credit card accounts to beused for P2P transactions. On the UET 101 the user may select the P2Poption, then select a bank account or credit card account to be used forthe transfer. The user can then enter the amount and the recipient'snumber. The UET 101 may then format a P2P transaction message and sendit to the main services facility 142. The main services facility 142validates the information and forwards a payment request to theappropriate bank. The bank debits the user's account and credits therecipient's account (optionally including interbank settlement of thetransfer). Confirmatory messages may be sent to the user and therecipient.

FIG. 69 depicts the steps in an embodiment of the P2P service process. Auser logs in and is validated by the main services facility 142, thenselects the P2P option. The user inputs an amount and the recipient'snumber, and the main services facility 142 validates the recipient'sinformation. The user selects a payment instrument through the mainservices facility 142, which in turn relays a request for settlement toa bank, which effects settlement and notifies the main services facility142. The main services facility 142 sends a debit confirmation to theuser's UET 101 on the client device 162 and relays a credit confirmationto the recipient.

FIG. 70 depicts a representative user interface flow for the P2P serviceprocess, which may be displayed on the client device 162. A log-inscreen prompts a user to enter a PIN, upon which a screen appearsshowing icons for various services, one of which is PAY screen. Whenselected, the icon initiates a PAY screen, which allows a user to selecta payment instrument (e.g., a credit card) and to enter the recipient,amount and a memo. The interface shows a transaction screen as thetransaction steps described in connection with FIGS. 68 and 69 are takenby the main services facility 142 and the financial service provider,after which a receipt screen appears, with a “paid” stamp for thetransaction. The user can then return to a value added service screen,such as for services of a financial services provider.

FIG. 71 depicts a platform having the attributes described herein forenabling prepaid top-up services, including a client device 162 (labeleda “one wallet”) with a UET 101, a merchant system 170 (labeled a“Merchant Wallet”) and a main services facility 142 (labeled a “walletservice center (WSC)). Service providers 168 such as a Telco and afinancial services provider interact with the main services facility142. In embodiments a telecommunications services provider may send amessage through the main services facility 142 to a UET 101 on a clientdevice 162, securely and electronically, indicating that a prepaidbalance is below a threshold. The customer initiates payment through aUET 101, which is received, securely and electronically, through themain services facility 142. The telecommunications service provider thensends a receipt to the UET 101 of the client device 162, and the prepaidaccount it topped up. Alternatively, a merchant may use a merchantsystem 170/merchant wallet at a retail location that is connected at theback end to the main services facility 142. The merchant may send arequest for top-up and payment details securely and electronicallythrough the main services facility 142 to the telecommunications serviceprovider. The telecommunications service provider, through the mainservices facility 142, may complete the transaction and send a receiptfor the customer to the merchant system 170 at the retail location.

FIG. 72 depicts a prepaid top-up service process whereby a user, perhapsin association with the client device 162, the merchant system 170,and/or the main service facility 142, may top-up a prepaid account. Thecustomer registers for a service with a telecommunications serviceprovider and/or bank, optionally through a branded and web-based mainservice facility 142. The customer can create a unique ID and PIN toaccess the UET 101 or a web-based portal of the main service facility142. the user can download a UET 101 to the user's client device 162.The user can set up bank accounts or credit cards to be used to pay forservices. The telecommunications service provider, securely andelectronically, notifies the user through the main services facility 142as soon as the balance on a prepaid airtime card is below a threshold,such as one set by the user. The UET 101 may alert the customer uponreceiving the message. Optionally, the UET 101 may locally generate amessage for the user as soon as the balance is below a preset threshold.Alternatively, the customer opens the UET 101 to review a prepaid cardbalance using a user ID and PIN. The customer may top up the prepaidcard through the UET by selecting an account or card, selecting anamount and initiating a secure payment request. The main servicefacility 142 receives the payment request from the customer's UET 101.Upon authorization of the transaction by the telecommunications serviceprovider, the main services facility 142 requests appropriate funds tobe debited from the account specified by the customer and sent to theissuer's account, sends a receipt of the transaction to the customer'sUET 101 and updates the telecommunications system provider's log.

FIG. 73 depicts a prepaid top-up service process whereby a registereduser, perhaps in association with the client device 162, the merchantsystem 170, and/or the main service facility 142, may top-up a prepaidaccount. A customer registers with a telecommunications service providerand one or more financial service providers, creating unique PINs andIds to access services at the main services facility 142. The customersets up accounts or cards with which to make payments. The customerapproaches a retail merchant equipped with a merchant system 170(“merchant wallet”) that is registered to provided prepaid top-up forthe telecommunications service provider. The customer provides themerchant with a user ID and a top-up value, which the merchant relays tothe telecommunications service provider through the main servicesfacility 142. On receiving the transaction request, the main servicefacility 142 asks for the PIN, which the customer can enter directly(where the request is sent to the customer's mobile phone or similarclient device 162) or the customer can enter through the merchant system170. On authorization of the transaction, the main services facility 142requests appropriate funds to be debited from the customer's selectedaccount and credited to the telecommunications service provider'saccount, sends a receipt to the merchant wallet and updates thetelecommunications service provider's system and log. The merchant mayprint a paper receipt for the customer using the UET 101 of the merchantsystem 170.

FIG. 74 depicts a prepaid top-up service process whereby an unregistereduser, perhaps in association with the client device 162, the merchantsystem 170, and/or the main service facility 142, may top-up a prepaidaccount. Here the customer approaches the merchant equipped with a UET101 (merchant wallet) on a merchant system 170 that is registered toprovide top-up services with a telecommunications services provider. Thecustomer provides the merchant with a phone number/prepaid accountnumber and top-up value, which the merchant enters into the merchantwallet/UET 101. The customer pays the merchant for the topup, using anypayment form, such as cash. The merchant sends details to the mainservices facility 142, specifying the amount collected. The mainservices facility 142 requests that funds be credited from themerchant's account and deposited to the telecommunications serviceprovider's account, sends a receipt and updates the telecommunicationsservice provider's system and log (reflecting top-up of the card). Themerchant prints a paper receipt for the customer using the UET 101 ofthe merchant system 170.

FIG. 75 depicts a representative user interface flow for the prepaidtop-up service process, which may be displayed on the client device 162.A user logs in using a PIN and sees a main screen with various servicesrepresented as icons. The user selects phone services and is presentedwith the card (optionally a branded image) and a message to top up thecard. The user then is presented a PAY screen at which the user canselect an account from which to pay for top-up and an amount. Theinterface shows a pending transaction as the main services facility 142completes the steps described in connection with FIGS. 73 and 74. Theuser's screen then shows the receipt from the main services facility 142and then shows a menu of other value added services.

FIG. 76 depicts another representative user interface flow for theprepaid top-up service process, which may be displayed on the clientdevice 162 or any other electronic transaction facility 101. A merchantlogs in by entering a PIN and sees icons representing various servicesof the UET 101. The merchant selects TOPUP and is presented with aprompt to enter a payment mode (e.g., cash) and to select a customer UET101 type. The merchant is then prompted to enter a customer number(e.g., phone number or account number), after which the merchant isprompted to enter a top-up value. The merchant verifies details andenters a PIN for the transaction, after which a screen indicates thatthe main services facility 142 is completing the transaction. Uponcompletion, a receipt appears on the merchant's UET 101, confirmingcompletion.

FIG. 77 depicts the steps in an embodiment of the prepaid top-up serviceprocess. A user logs in and receives a reminder from a main servicesfacility 142 to top-up a card, optionally in response to receivingnotice of a low balance from a telecommunications services provider. Theuser selects a payment instrument and amount and sends it through themain services facility 142, which verifies the user and relays a top-uprequest to the telecommunications services provider. Thetelecommunications services provider verifies details and sendsconfirmation to the main services facility 142, which relays the detailsto a financial services provider, which effects settlement and notifiesthe main services facility 142. The main services facility 142 sends areceipt marked “paid” to the UET 101 of the user and conveys completionof the transaction to the telecommunications services provider, whichtops up the account and sends confirmation through the main servicesfacility 142 to the user's UET 101.

FIG. 78 depicts the steps in another embodiment of the prepaid top-upservice process. Here the steps are the same as in connection with FIG.77, except that the user's UET 101 tracks usage and automatically sendsa low balance alert to the user, without requiring prompting from themain services facility 142.

FIG. 79 depicts the steps in yet another an embodiment of the prepaidtop-up service process. The steps are similar to those of the processesof FIGS. 77 and 78, except that the UET 101 of the user synchronizeswith a main services facility 142 and generates a query about thebalance of the user's prepaid account. The telecommunications servicesprovider's system queries the balance and reports it via the mainservices facility 142 to the UET 101 of the user's client device 162,after which the user completes a top-up transaction as described above.

FIG. 80 depicts the steps in still another an embodiment of the prepaidtop-up service process, in this case using a merchant system 170(“merchant wallet”). A merchant logs in and synchronizes with a mainservices facility 142. A user provides a merchant with a top-up request,including phone number/account information, payment instrument/accountand a requested top-up amount. The merchant routes those details to themain services facility 142 from the merchant system 170. The request isverified by the telecommunications service provider, which sends aconfirmation through the main services facility 142. The main servicesfacility requests financial settlement with a financial servicesprovider, which effects settlement and sends confirmation of payment.The user pays the merchant, which relays confirmation of completion ofthe transaction to the telecommunications services provider's system.The telecommunications service provider's system then completes top-up,after which the merchant system 170 prints a receipt for the user.

FIG. 81 depicts the steps in another an embodiment of the prepaid top-upservice process. A merchant logs in using a merchant UET 101 (merchantwallet) and synchronizes with the main services facility 142. The userrequests a PIN for top-up, which is routed securely to the main servicesfacility 142. The request is then sent to the telecommunications serviceprovider, which verifies availability of topup and sends confirmationthrough the main services facility 142. The main services facilityobtains confirmation of the request from the merchant system 170 andrelays a request for financial settlement to a financial servicesprovider, which effects settlement and sends confirmation to themerchant system 170. The customer pays the merchant, which sends arequest to release the PIN to the telecommunications service provider.The telecommunications service provider sends the pin to the UET 101 ofthe merchant system 170, which prints the receipt and the PIN and givesthem to the user.

While certain services, such as payments, ticketing and top-up serviceshave been disclosed herein, it should be understood that similar processflows, platforms and user interfaces may support the other types ofservices and platforms described herein.

Certain embodiments of the secure transaction platform 200 may includevarious features, protocols, facilities, and the like that will bedescribed in connection with FIGS. 82 through 93. The secure transactionplatform 200 optionally enables multi-dimensional security among one ormore main service facilities 142, merchant systems 170, electronictransaction facilities 101 and service providers 168, optionallyincluding domain-, user- and device-based security for each of thoseentities, systems and facilities.

The main service facility 142 enables users to avail services frommultiple service providers 168, card issuers and/or transactionacquirers. A service may be accessed directly by the user or through oneor more electronic transaction facilities 101 (e.g., smart phones, PC,PDA, etc.). A single electronic transaction facility 101 may also beshared by multiple users (e.g., a merchant electronic transactionfacility 101 may be operated by multiple clerks). As depicted in FIG.82, this establishes a N×N cluster of entities (user×electronictransaction facilities 101) that interact with the platform 200. Thetype of interaction may depend upon the type of service.

The main service facility 142 may be scaled to include multiple serviceproviders 168 (e.g., banking, utility, entertainment, etc.) where thesecurity needs increase to N×(N×N). There may also be multipleelectronic transaction facilities 101 (e.g., student, bank, medical) inone device (e.g., cellular phone). For example, a “student facility”containing a student id, library card, copy card, and Citibank-issuedcollege card), and a “bank facility” containing a Citibank issuedcollege card. These two Citibank cards from the student and bankelectronic transaction facility 101s may synchronize on the back-end. Asanother example, within the field of transportation, a truck driver mayhave one facility containing a gas card, routing, and bill of lading, asecond facility with a “scheduler” containing routes, assigned pick-ups,unassigned pick-ups, and a third “distributor” facility containingassigned pick-ups, unassigned pick-ups, and new pick-ups.

To ensure the security and authenticity of the communication takingplace between the client (user or electronic transaction facility 101)and service provider 168 entities, the main service facility 142 maysupport a one-to-one secure relationship between each client (user orelectronic transaction facility 101) and entity. Each cluster(user×electronic transaction facility 101) may be introduced into theplatform through a primary/home server called the main service facility(MSF) 142. The servers may be configured for individual serviceproviders 168 and suffixed with the nature of the service they provide.For example, a card issuer server is called MSF-I or a transactionacquirer server is called MSF-A. Collectively, these servers are calledMSF Family Servers. Each MSF Family Server is equipped with the standardset of components like User Management, Device Management, CA,Authorization, Administration, etc.

There may be two types of clusters interacting with the MSF 142:electronic transaction facilities 101 and other MSF family servers(MSFI, Utilities, etc.). These entities may establish trust in differentways. For electronic transaction facilities 101, the user enrolls for anelectronic transaction facility 101 application with the MSF 142. At thetime of enrolment, the user may introduce an electronic transactionfacility 101 to the MSF 142. The MSF 142 may then authenticate the userthrough independent channels and delivers the electronic transactionfacility 101 software. The electronic transaction facility 101 softwareis typically downloaded from the MSF 142 or comes pre-installed on theuser's physical electronic transaction facility 101 (e.g., phone, PDA,SIM, etc). This software may have the MSF 142 server's public securitycredentials (e.g. PKI Certificate) built into its code. The electronictransaction facility 101 software may initiate an electronic transactionfacility 101 registration process with the server during which theelectronic transaction facility 101 generates its own keys that arecertified by the MSF 142. From the server's point of view, the MSF 142may issue an OTAC (One Time Activation Code) to the user for eachelectronic transaction facility 101. This OTAC may be delivered to theuser over a relevant channel (e.g., E-mail, Courier, etc.). The OTAC maybe an 8-character strong random generated for the given electronictransaction facility 101 by the server and stored securely on the serverfor verification. Typically, 128-bit AES key is used to secure the OTACon the server. Confidentiality of the OTAC may permit a user to beauthenticated at the time of establishing the initial trust. The usermay enter this OTAC in the electronic transaction facility 101 at thetime of electronic transaction facility 101 registration, permitting theMSF 142 to authenticate the electronic transaction facility 101 for thefirst time and relate the electronic transaction facility 101 to itsowner.

The initial trust establishment of the MSF 142 with other MSF Familyservers may be done by the administrators of these servers by installingthe given server's security certificate as a trusted SSL/HTTPS server'scredential or by an inter-server registration process. This allows theinter-server communication among various MSF severs over the HTTPS (withClient Authentication). Alternatively, an OTAC based scheme may also beimplemented between two MSF 142 servers. In this case, both the serversneed to be enrolled and registered with each other using the serverregistration process. This may be useful when the inter-servercommunication has to be done over the C-SAM PKI.

The process of setting up the security and authentication credentialwith the given MSF 142 server may be referred to as the DeviceRegistration Process. During this process, the electronic transactionfacility 101 software may generate the security and authentication keys(e.g. Encryption Keys and Signing Keys) and sends them to the MSF 142.The MSF 142 may then certify these keys with a dedicated CA and storethe certificates/public keys in its own database. A sample deviceregistration process for PKI based client may involve the electronictransaction facility 101 encrypting the username & OTAC with the MSF'sPublic Encryption Key (preinstalled) and sending the data to the MSF142. The server may verify the OTAC, and respond with its latestencryption and signing keys. The electronic transaction facility 101 maygenerate an encryption key-pair and a signing key-pair and send acertification request for each to the server. An X.509 certificate maybe generated for the electronic transaction facility's 101 keys usingits dedicated CA. The electronic transaction facility 101 may thenacknowledge the completion of the registration process, and theelectronic transaction facility's 101 account activated by the server.

Establishing the initial trust with other MSF 142 servers (e.g., thoseof service providers 168) may require more than a pre-installedcredential. New service providers 168 may join and offer services to thecluster (user×electronic transaction facility 101) that have beenenrolled at the MSF 142. These service providers 168 may set up theMSF-I or MSF-A as appropriate. The home MSF 142 server may act as thecentral gateway for the user to enroll for the services offered by theproviders. This may result in the cluster (user×electronic transactionfacility 101) having a dynamic relationship with multiple serviceproviders 168, and may, thus, mandate that the initial trust beestablished dynamically.

As the MSF 142 introduces the service providers 168 and a cluster(user×electronic transaction facilities 101) to each other, theresponsibility of dynamic trust establishment between these entities maybe best suited for the MSF 142. Since the MSF 142 is typically owned andoperated by a service provider 168 (e.g., Mobile Operator, Bank, etc.)that may already have a strong relationship with the client, thisintroduction may be treated as reliable. When the user opts to avail aservice, their home MSF 142 may update the user's electronic transactionfacility 101 with the respective service provider's 168 security andauthentication credentials (e.g. encryption and signing certificates).This may enable the cluster (user×electronic transaction facility 101)to securely communicate directly with the service provider 168.

When a user opts to avail a service, the MSF 142 may forward theelectronic transaction facility's 101 security credentials (e.g.encryption certificate) to the service provider 168. However, theservice provider 168 may still need to perform its own authenticationand certification of the cluster (user×electronic transaction facility101). The service provider 168 might not use the electronic transactionfacility's 101 MSF 142 authentication credentials (e.g. signingcertificate), as the service provider 168 has not issued them. Forexample, if the MSF 142 forwards the signing certificate of theelectronic transaction facility 101 to the MSFI, the MSFI can verify theelectronic transaction facility's 101 signature. However, it cannotverify the certificate itself, as it is issued by the MSF's 142 CA andnot its own CA. The service provider 168 may issue an OTAC to the userover a relevant channel (e.g. e-mail, courier). When the electronictransaction facility 101 contacts the service provider 168 for the firsttime, the OTAC may be verified by the service provider 168 for theinitial authentication. The service provider 168 may then proceed tocertify a unique set of credentials (PKI keys) for the cluster(user×electronic transaction facility 101) relationship with itself.

Different service providers 168 may offer different services to theelectronic transaction facility 101 user. This may include serviceslike—downloading of the virtual card to the electronic transactionfacility 101 and performing online transactions using such cards. Theseoperations may require a high degree of security and authentication. Thecluster (user×electronic transaction facilities 101) may establish aone-to-one relationship directly with the service provider 168 to ensuremaximum security and to avoid man-in-the-middle type of attacks.

The electronic transaction facility 101 may encrypt the serviceid andOTAC with the service provider's 168 encryption public key and send theregistration/download request directly to the service provider's 168MSF. The server may then verify the OTAC and respond with its latestencryption and signing keys. The electronic transaction facility 101 maygenerate a new signing keypair for the given server and send acertification request to the server. The server may issue a signingcertificate using its dedicated CA. The server may also send the servicedata/download response to the electronic transaction facility 101.

The electronic transaction facility 101 may then acknowledge theregistration/download, and the server may activate the electronictransaction facility's 101 account/services.

The electronic transaction facility 101 application may encapsulate theN×N security credentials in the form of virtual cards. The user may notbe required to remember which keys go with which issuer. Instead theuser may select the cards to be used for a particular transaction andthe appropriate keys may then be selected by the electronic transactionfacility 101 application and used for the cryptography.

The electronic transaction facility 101 may allow for a single PIN tounlock the application and retrieve all the individual certificates.Keys and certificates are typically stored using a PKCS#7 symmetricencryption. A PIN may be used to decrypt and retrieve these. Without theelectronic transaction facility 101 the user would potentially have NPINs for each relationship. The electronic transaction facility 101 mayaggregate the relationships and provide a single access channel to thedifferent business entities. The key pairs may be generated on theelectronic transaction facility 101 itself and hence may ensure that theprivate keys are secure. A secondary approach (for slow electronictransaction facilities 101) may require the key-pairs to be generated onthe MSF and delivered securely to the client. The keys may be encryptedwith the OTAC, which is delivered securely to the user.

The Electronic transaction facility 101 platform may enable a user tosecurely store his/her private data on their personal electronictransaction facility 101. The user may access this data using his/herPIN. This imposes a greater level of responsibility on the client sideas the single credential i.e. the PIN may be used to retrieve a bulk ofprivate data. The security transaction platform 200 for such systems mayneed to ensure that the convenience of the single-credential doesn'tbecome the vulnerability point for the system. Furthermore, theElectronic transaction facility 101 may interact with the server overthe live/open networks. This communication should be secured as it maycarry the user's private data and/or accessibility information to theuser's private data.

FIG. 83 depicts an electronic transaction facility 101 softwareimplementation of a multi-layered data security model. The electronictransaction facility 101 may use 128-bit AES encryption to store thedata in its database. The key used for this may be generated using thePRNG algorithms to ensure the key's effectiveness. This key is calledthe Data Key. The Data Key may be encrypted with yet another key, calledthe dynamic key. The dynamic key may be made up of the user's PIN andthe physical electronic transaction facility's 101 secret, uniqueidentification attributes. For example, in the case of a phone, the IMSImay be used to bind the user's data with given phone. When a user logsinto the Electronic transaction facility 101 system, the system may tryto retrieve the Data Key using the PIN supplied by the user. If the DataKey can be retrieved successfully, the user is authenticated. Thedynamic key approach has two-fold advantages. First, the dynamickey-to-data key approach may reduce, or eliminate, the need for storingthe user's PIN onto the electronic transaction facility 101. This mayenhance the PIN's security, as the PIN is never physically stored andresides only in the user's own memory. The static portion of the dynamickey may bind the data to the user's physical electronic transactionfacility 101, and therefore may prevent the data to be copied. Data isnot decrypted on the file system. The electronic transaction facility101 application may read the encrypted data, decrypts it in memory andthen discards it. Thus, the misuse of the data by another application oruser may be reduced.

FIG. 84 depicts multiple data streams for grouping data and encryptionusing different keys depending upon business requirements. A user's datastream may include the basic identification and authentication data,along with the data key used to secure the application data. If the usercan decrypt the user info with the correct PIN and therefore the correctdynamic key, the electronic transaction facility 101 may provide theapplication data and various services to the user. If an electronictransaction facility 101 caters to the multiple users, the user infostream may be replicated for each user. This may result in individualauthentication for ‘n’ users, without establishing electronictransaction facility 101-to-server relationship ‘n’ times.

FIG. 85 depicts the main service facility 142 with various types ofelectronic transaction facilities 101, each with different communicationand security capabilities. The protocol for the electronic transactionfacility 101-to-server communication defines an abstract model for thesecure communication, which may be configured for the individualelectronic transaction facility 101 types. The abstract protocol isagnostic to the data representation schemes (encoding/decoding),communication channel (HTTP, SMS, Raw TCP Sockets) and security models.The MSF 142 Platform may be configured and extended for any validcombinations of these communication factors.

FIG. 86 represents the logical-schema of the PKI Security model basedcommunication protocol. The PKI comms message structure may use theheader of the message structure to carry the origin and destinationidentifications, which identifies the electronic transaction facility101 and MSF's 142 security certificate being referred by the electronictransaction facility 101. The comms message may also contain a signaturefor the complete body, which can be verified to authenticate the claimedelectronic transaction facility's 101 identity. The message content ofthe comms message may be encrypted with the recipient's encryption keysto ensure that only the recipient can read the data. The integrity andnon-repudiation aspects may be taken care of by the signature field. Asthe complete body is signed by the electronic transaction facility 101,the service request and service parameters cannot be denied by theoriginator at a later time.

The MSF supports multiple crypto systems and has a set of credentialsfor each crypto system (RSA, ECC, NERI, etc.). This allows N types ofelectronic transaction facilities 101 to use whatever crypto system isnatively available or supported. The MSF's 142 CA also supportscertification for each crypto system.

The C-SAM Comms Message may use a service number and sequence number foridentifying the service. Therefore a single data structure may be usedto invoke all services. This makes the overall security transactionplatform 200 implementation centralized and therefore more manageable.Having a single message structure for all types of service requests mayprovide added protection from pattern analysis and brute-force type ofcrypto attacks.

The MSF supports OneWallet (e.g., electronic transaction facility 101)to Legacy POS Transactions. In this type of transactions, thetransaction may be carried out by adapting the existing POS (point ofsale system, such as a merchant system 170) with a OneWallet (electronictransaction facility 101)-to-POS (merchant facility 170) adapter. Theproximity transaction in this case may be between the OneWalletelectronic transaction facility 101 and adapter mechanism. The securitygoal is to protect the data during the communication between theOneWallet and the adapter. As soon as the adapter delivers the user'sdata to the legacy system, the existing system may take care of thesecurity aspects.

OneWallet-to-merchant electronic transaction facility 101 transactionsof this type may be carried out between the OneWallet and MSF empoweredPOS. Although the proximity transaction happens between the Electronictransaction facility 101 and POS electronic transaction facility 101,the security model may need to cater to the end-to-end security betweenthe electronic transaction facility 101 and the transaction server.

The communication between the electronic transaction facility 101 andthe POS may be secured using the symmetric key exchange. The electronictransaction facility 101 and the POS may establish a common symmetrickey for a communication session following a standard Key Exchangeprotocol. The actual transaction data may be transferred in the laterstages of the communication session to ensure the maximum security.

FIG. 87 shows a sample transaction flow including the Key Exchange. In atypical transaction scenario, the electronic transaction facility 101software forwards the details of the user's transaction instrument, saya Virtual Card, to the transaction server along-with the necessarytransaction attributes. This transaction data is routed through manyhops. Each hop added in the transaction path adds a security risk. TheMCF 142 Platform may establish end-to-end security credentials betweenthe electronic transaction facility 101 and the transaction server. Forexample, when the Virtual Card is downloaded from the WSCI, the cardinfo may include the transaction keys for the given user. When theelectronic transaction facility 101 uses this data for a transactionwith a POS device, it may encrypt (and optionally signs) the data withthese keys. This makes it more difficult to retrieve the private datafor the intermediate servers, and thus makes the man-in-the-middle typeof attacks less likely.

FIG. 88 shows an outline of the end-to-end security setup between theelectronic transaction facility 101 and Transaction Server. Certainelectronic transaction facilities 101 are constrained to onlycommunicate with the one server from which the application isdownloaded. Here, the option for interacting with service providers 168is to use a single domain model.

The MSF 142 may contain a component called Secure Proxy, which offersthe services to the electronic transaction facility 101 for securecommunication with service provider 168 servers that are transparentfrom the rest of the components. The secure proxy services assume thatthe security credentials are already setup between the electronictransaction facility 101 and the service provider 168. However, oftenthe security credentials may also be set using the same services. Theservice provider 168 may issue an OTAC over email or land mail to theuser. This OTAC may be used to encrypt the key-exchange requests betweenthe Electronic transaction facility 101 and the service provider 168,making the request safe from the proxy. The proxy may forward theelectronic transaction facility 101's request (already encrypted for the168 provider) to the service provider 168 server over the HTTPS, andsend the response back to the electronic transaction facility 101. Asshown in FIG. 89, this may enable the electronic transaction facility101 to interact with various service providers 168 using single securedomain.

The MSF 142 platform may offer its services to a wide range ofelectronic transaction facilities 101, including legacy GSM phones,low-end smart phones, high-end smart phones, PDAs, PCs and custom POS.However, not all electronic transaction facilities 101 are capable ofhandling full PKI, and therefore a custom security scheme may bedesigned to ensure the security requirements of such electronictransaction facilities 101. The MSF 142 platform implements a SymmetricKey based security transaction platform 200 for this purpose, where the128 bit AES keys are used as the security credential and stored at boththe ends securely.

The electronic transaction facility 101 software may implement a verylightweight crypto engine. The MSF 142 platform may enable such clientswith a Lightweight AES Cipher. The AES cipher supports 128, 192 and 256bit encryption with the performance optimised for low-capabilityclients. Also, the code size of this cipher is very small (˜3 KB forJava) in order to support the low-end storage capability of theelectronic transaction facilities 101. The cipher may usepre-initialized cipher tables to reduce the number of processor callsand the number of computation variables. This may reduce the processorand memory requirements of the cipher, resulting in enhancedperformance.

In a memory-centric implementation of the cipher, significant code-sizemay be devoted to the pre-defined (pre-initialized at runtime) ciphertables, which consumes a large percentage of the available applicationspace. One embodiment of the AES Cipher externalizes these cipher tablesand reads/initializes the tables when the engine is ignited fromexternal storage (rather than from within the executable). This approachmay allow the application to leverage the available storage space ratherthan use the scarce application space in constrained electronictransaction facilities 101. This may result in a compact cipher sizewithout compromising the security (as these cipher tables are part ofthe public domain algorithm of AES). The cipher tables can either bepackaged along-with the electronic transaction facility 101 software orcan be downloaded by electronic transaction facility 101 at runtime andstored in its data storage space.

Unlike the Public Key based security setup, the biggest challenge in thesymmetric security transaction platform 200 is the Key Distribution. TheMSF may need to create and/or store the symmetric credentials for eachelectronic transaction facility 101 securely. In the absence of thepre-installed public key/certificate, the OTAC may be used as the toolfor authentication as well as privacy. When the electronic transactionfacility 101 initiates the registration process, it sends the user'sOTAC encrypted with the OTAC itself. This scheme may ensure the privacyof the user's credentials. Also, the same OTAC may be used to encryptthe server's response. Thus, the OTAC can serve as a shared key betweenthe server and the client. During the initial trust setup, the serverand the client share a 128 bit AES key generated using the PRNG. Thiskey is stored at both the server and the client ends securely. When theservice message is exchanged between the server-client, the message isencrypted with this Key. This key may also be changed at the end ofevery communication session. As the OTAC serves as the authentication aswell as privacy key, the MSF 142 must not forward anything to theservice provider 168 or the electronic transaction facility 101 toestablish the dynamic trust.

The MSF 142 platform implements a concept of ‘Symmetric Signing’ toensure the authentication and data integrity. In this approach, hash ofthe message (Message digest) may be encrypted with a shared symmetrickey, instead of the sender's private signing key. When the serverreceives this signature, it may verify the signature by decrypting itwith the client's symmetric key. If the signature can be verified, theoriginator of this message is likely to have the shared secret key ofthe client. Given the fact that the shared secret key is 256 bit strongAES key, generated using the PRNG, it is difficult to crack it using thestandard crypto attacks. Thus, successful verification is a highlyprobable indictor of the presence of a shared secret with the originatorand, therefore, may serve as the authentication mechanism. The symmetricsignature is produced by encrypting the message digest of the message.If the message or the signature is corrupted during the communication,the message digest will not match. Given the fact that it is difficultto break the key, the signature is unlikely to be reproduced by anintruder.

The elements depicted in flow charts and block diagrams throughout thefigures imply logical boundaries between the elements. However,according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depictedelements and the functions thereof may be implemented as parts of amonolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or asmodules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, orany combination of these, and all such implementations are within thescope of the present disclosure. Thus, while the foregoing drawings anddescription set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems, noparticular arrangement of software for implementing these functionalaspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context.

Similarly, it will be appreciated that the various steps identified anddescribed above may be varied, and that the order of steps may beadapted to particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein.All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within thescope of this disclosure. As such, the depiction and/or description ofan order for various steps should not be understood to require aparticular order of execution for those steps, unless required by aparticular application, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from thecontext.

The methods or processes described above, and steps thereof, may berealized in hardware, software, or any combination of these suitable fora particular application. The hardware may include a general-purposecomputer and/or dedicated computing device. The processes may berealized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embeddedmicrocontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or otherprogrammable device, along with internal and/or external memory. Theprocesses may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specificintegrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic,or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured toprocess electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one ormore of the processes may be realized as computer executable codecreated using a structured programming language such as C, an objectoriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level orlow-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardwaredescription languages, and database programming languages andtechnologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on oneof the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations ofprocessors, processor architectures, or combinations of differenthardware and software.

Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, orall of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalonedevice or other hardware. In another aspect, means for performing thesteps associated with the processes described above may include any ofthe hardware and/or software described above. All such permutations andcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferredembodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications andimprovements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention isnot to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood inthe broadest sense allowable by law.

While the invention has been described in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, other embodiments may be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art and are encompassed herein.

1. A method, comprising: providing a universal electronic transactionfacility.